He Never Left
by Waterfall-Orchid
Summary: A look into Peter and Morgan's relationship throughout the years. Throughout her childhood. Throughout grief, anger, love, support, and the future.


I! Am! Sad! So! I! Wrote! This! In! During! An! All! Nighter!

* * *

_I love you a ton_

_I love you 3000_

_Wow, 3000, that's crazy. Now go to bed or I'll sell all your toys_

* * *

The first memory Morgan Stark had of her dad was running outside with him, the wind coursing through her hair. The sun was shining, not a cloud in sight. Streaks of purple, yellow, blue, and green painted on their faces. Pepper wasn't pleased, her arms crossed, but Morgan distinctly remembered her lips quirked up slightly, her jaw tightening in an effort to not smile as her dad grabbed onto her waist, pulling her into the paint fight.

Morgan remembered him helping her with her first circuit board. Introducing her to his lab, or what he liked to call: the garage. She remembered watching him from her spot on the stairs, watching her dad work in concentration, his brows furrowed and his tongue sticking out of his mouth ever so slightly. He would turn around and embrace her in a hug, messing up her hair, tickling her stomach, making her giggle. She remembered his dark brown eyes that would lighten up in her presence. The ticks and facial expressions he had. The way his eyes sparkled whenever he would see her mom or the way his face contorted in love and happiness. In relief, as he tucked her in and closed the door to her room, wishing her goodnight.

She remembered all of his silly nicknames for her: Morgoon, Morgoona, Maguna, Little Miss.

She remembered he was a master mechanic. He could fix _anything_. It mesmerized her. Her favorite toy, her Spiderman figurine, would break every week or so, due to her constant handling of it. He could fix anything. He could fix her boo boo's. He could fix her bad moods. He could fix _everything_.

She remembered how his eyes would darken when they would catch the photo in the corner of the kitchen, when he would be, _trying_, but probably failing, to wash the dishes. He wasn't very good at it. His light hearted expression would shift as he would stare down at the picture of the boy that was his in every way except blood. Morgan remembered watching him set the photo down and engulf her in a tight hug.

She remembered all of his bedtime stories. Her favorite were of the Avengers. Of Rhodey, of funny Happy stories, but her favorite were of Spiderman. Of Peter Parker. Those were her daddy's favorite too. At the end of them his eyes would always shine slightly with unshed tears and emotion, illuminated by the glare of the moon. He kept Peter Parker alive with his stories and his memories. Morgan felt as if she grew up with him, like she already knew the boy.

She remembered the day he left. He hugged her tight and close, his embrace lingering a few seconds longer than it would usually. He kissed the top of her head and the side of her face, pulling back and smiling. He said he loved her. That he would be back. He would never be gone.

_I love you 3000_

When Morgan Stark was younger, it made sense to her. She had a clear schedule. She woke up at the same time, ate at the same time, played outside with her mom and dad everyday, went to bed at the same time.

She had a father and a mother. Both of them were heroes to her. Her father told her about Iron Man. He showed her his suits, dust gathering around them from lack of use. Her mother was a hero in her own right. She remembered watching her mother and father say goodbye, whispering to each other quietly, only the two of them hearing and understanding. She felt her mother wrap her arm around her shoulder as they watched Tony fly into the sky. She remembered watching the suite in aww, mesmerized by it. She stared at the sky until she couldn't see his trails anymore.

The next morning her mother made breakfast. Her dad wasn't there. Morgan watched her mother's movements. She seemed sad. So Morgan kissed her on the forehead. Pepper smiled slightly down at her daughter, her eyes welling up with tears. She encased her daughter in a hug and kissed her head, closing her eyes shut. Morgan wasn't quite sure what was going on. It didn't make sense.

A few days later, Happy arrived at the house. He distracted her with stories and cheeseburgers. He played blocks with her until her mother came to say goodbye. Morgan was confused.

"Give me a kiss." Pepper choked out, smiling weakly at her daughter. Morgan blinked at her mom and stood up from her position on the floor. She wrapped her arms around her mother and kissed her cheek. Her mother leaned back and caressed Morgan's cheek. "Be nice to Happy. I'll be back. I love you."

Morgan nodded silently. Happy wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she watched her mother shoot off into the sky as well.

The next morning, Morgan watched Happy's face fall. She watched from the window as her mother landed back in the front yard and fell into Happy's embrace, sobbing, her whole body shaking. At that moment Morgan knew something had gone wrong. Something irreversible. Something not even her daddy could fix.

But she learned her daddy _did_ fix it. He fixed the world. He brought everyone back. Saved the world. Morgan was proud.

When Morgan was 5, on April 26, she was told her dad would never come back. She watched her mother walk through the doorway into their home, a lost look on her face. He mother crouched in front of her, stroking her hair slightly. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, her mom barely keeping it together. It hadn't even been twelve hours since.

Pepper pulled her daughter into a tight hug, "I love you."

She felt Morgan tighten her grip around her. Pepper shut her eyes quickly, feeling a tear roll down her cheek. She pulled back, opening her eyes again and watched as Morgan wiped the tear off of her cheek.

"Where's Daddy?" Morgan whispered, staring at her mother.

Pepper choked down a sob and smiled sadly, taking in a deep breath. "You know your daddy loved you right?"

Morgan nodded, "3000."

"Yeah," Pepper whispered, "3000." She stroked her daughter's soft brown hair, just like Tony's. "daddy won. He brought everyone back. He loved you so much, Morgan." Pepper's voice broke and she gulped. "Only he could of done it, and he got hurt. And sometimes when people get hurt they don't get better."

Morgan was silent for a few moments. Her brows furrowed in confusion. It didn't make sense to her. "So, daddy's not coming home?"

Pepper shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. "No. He would have done anything to come back. But we're going to be okay. We're going to make him proud."

The next few days, she couldn't recall when she got older. She remembered the first time she watched the hologram. She was confused.

"_Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn't always role that way. Maybe this time … I'm hoping if you play this back it's in celebration. I hope families are reunited. I hope you get it back and something like a normal version of the planet has been restored … if there ever was such a thing. God, what a world. Universe now. If you told me 10 years ago that we weren't alone, let alone - you know - to this extent, I mean I-I-I wouldn't have been surprised, but c'mon, who knew? The epic forces of darkness and light that would come into play. And for better or worse, that's the reality Morgan's gonna have to fight her way to grow up in. So I thought I probably better record a little in the case of an untimely death … on my part. I mean not that death at any time is an untimely death. This time travel thing that we're gonna try and pull off tomorrow it's-it's got me scratching my head about the survivability of it all. But again that's the hero gig. Part of the journey is the end. What am I even trippin for, everything's going to work out exactly the way it's supposed to. I love you 3000."_

Nothing made sense anymore. She remembered the black suits, the solemn attitude, not quite understanding it.

The one thing that stood out in startling clarity was the funeral.

She was in all black, just like her mother. Just like everyone else there. She saw the faces of people she didn't know and people she had only seen in pictures. She walked hand in hand with her mother down to the dock. Morgan didn't like having all of these people watching her when she felt so strange.

She felt… vulnerable, she'd remember. She felt an immeasurable sadness that she shared with everyone on her lawn.

Her mother showed her the red and gold vase in memoriam for her father. She traced the letters on the vase slowly.

_Anthony Edward Stark_

Morgan remembered sitting on her porch with Happy, snuggled up next to him. She stared out solemnly at the lake, at the setting sun. Her eyes focused on her mother talking to a teenage boy, a young man. Their back's faced her but Morgan instantly knew who it was when they they turned, the setting sun illuminating his profile. Morgan connected it instantly. Peter Parker from the picture. From the bedtime stories. From the Spiderman suits that her dad would randomly take out and tinker with, adding occasional updates when a new idea popped into his mind. He never forgot about the web slinger.

One thing she would never forget was meeting Peter Parker for the first time. She had heard countless stories, her dad mentioning the boy he had once mentored. The boy he thought of as a son. The boy who could climb walls. She had stood on the outside of her parents door countless times listening to her dads hushed cries. Watched him stare at the picture frame of he and the boy that he hid in the corner too many times for her to count.

He hadn't cried during the ceremony. He cried at home, with May. She held him as his shoulders shook with grief, his eyes shut closed. He gasped for air, feeling like he was drowning. His sob was guttural, falling forward into May's embrace. _I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. _Questions of fairness swirled in his mind. Why was it him? Why Tony? He had a wife, a daughter, the simple life.

"He knew what he was doing," May had whispered, calming her nephew. _This isn't on you. Don't blame yourself._

He felt a sense of irony. His dad died when he was four, Ben when he was 13. Tony Stark. 17. He had stood on the wooden dock even after everyone had left, staring out at the water. He had watched the tribute flowers that held Tony's arc reactor float on the river until it disappeared from sight. Peter couldn't believe he was relieving another death. Another funeral. And the self hatred part of him blamed his mentor's death on him. He wasn't sure when Pepper walked up to him and stood next to him, following his gaze.

"Tony was one of the lucky ones. He had me. He got Morgan." Peter didn't even notice Pepper was holding something until she brought it up to his attention. The sunset hit the picture of him and Tony, holding up bunny ears behind each other. "He kept this on the shelf, in the back. He couldn't stand looking at it because every time he did, he thought of you. I don't think anything hurt him more than losing you," Pepper was pensive for a few moments, letting Peter stare at the photo in silence. "The first thing he said when he got back was 'I lost the kid'." Pepper turned the face Peter, but Peter continued to stare down at the photo. "He blamed himself for losing you."

He meant to laugh, but it came out more as a choked sob. To think Tony Stark blamed himself for something so random. Peter took in a shaky breath and turned to face her, his eyes distraught and fatigued. He had brown eyes, the same as Tony, older and wiser than they had any right to be for a 17 year old. Peter was his age, and he had already seen and been through too much.

_What ifs_ stormed through his brain. What if he had stopped Tony? What could he have done different?

Pepper watched him with a stoich eyes. She knew almost everything about Tony. She knew every glimmer in his eyes. She knew evry sag of his shoulders. She knew more about Tony Stark then herself. And it was almost like seeing a mirror reflection of him on Peter's face.

"Don't blame yourself." Pepper spoke up. She gulped, a choked feeling in her throat. "You two are so similar. I know exactly what is going inside your mind. You can't blame yourself for something you have no power over. Tony made his choice, and you have to make yours. Don't live in regret, because that isn't what Tony would have wanted for you."

A tear finally fell down Peter's cheek and his reddening eyes met Pepper's tearing ones. She embraced him tightly, holding the boy in grief. "He loved you so much."

"I'm sorry." Peter choked out. "He had a life. He got what he wanted. He had a daughter."

"Stop it." She told him, "You have nothing to be sorry about Peter. Nothing."

Peter took in a breath and stepped back from Pepper. "Her name is Morgan, right?" Peter asked swallowing the lump in his throat; he looked back to Pepper.

Pepper nodded, smiling sadly. "Yes." Pepper glanced at her daughter with Happy for a moment, "She's grown up with stories about you, Tony made sure she did. He never wanted you to be forgotten."

Peter embraced Pepper one last time before she kissed the top of his head gingerly and walked back towards the house. Peter sat down on the deck, his legs dangling close to the water. He stared out at the lake, taking in deep breaths, breathing.

A few moments later he felt a hand wrap around his slowly. Peter's eyes jerked open in surprise and he opened them to face Morgan, who was staring at him. Tony's eyes. She had a forlong look buried under them, but childlike wonder at the forefront. Her curious gaze bore into Peter's memory, reminding him of the countless days spent in the lab with Tony, working on some new creation. The same curious and endearing look in his mentor's eyes.

Morgan blinked at Peter with her big eyes. "Is it true you climb on walls?"

Peter blinked back in surprise. After a few moments he nodded silently. Morgan's eyes lit up slightly and she sat down next to him, her legs criss cross.

A sense of brightness and hope took over Peter's eyes as he stared at the five year old. "You must be Morgan."

Morgan nodded, "Peter."

Peter turned to face her. He criss crossed his legs as well. Morgan continued, "daddy told me stories about you. My favorite is the lake one. Where he saved you."

For the first time in days Peter's lip quirked up.

Morgan giggled, "You can't swim?"

"I can swim!" Peter insisted, smiling brightly now. His eyes had cleared as he stared down at the little girl. Probably the cutest girl in the world. "I can swim."

Morgan blinked up at him, "You're Spiderman?"

Peter nodded again, "But that's a secret."

Morgan nodded again and brought a finger up to Peter's lips. "Daddy told me if I told anyone I would be in deep shit."

Peter laughed, doubling over. He hadn't laughed in what felt like years. The mood around the two lightening. Peter embraced Morgan, wrapping his arms around her while she held onto his neck tightly. He breathed in her hair and kissed the top of her head.

Morgan wrapped her arms around Peter, feeling comfort and a sense of love she hadn't felt in days. It was different from her daddy's hugs. But at the same time it was similar. Peter's hugs made her just as happy as her daddy's. He could give her a lifetime of hugs.

Morgan peered up at the sky, "daddy's not coming back. I miss him."

Peter peered down at Morgan, gently wiping some of the stray hairs off of her face. "He may not be here, physically. But he's always here. He never left."

Morgan frowned and looked up at Peter, "What do you mean?"

Peter looked up at the sky and pointed, "He's up there. Staring down at you. He may not physically be here. But he's always up there, watching."

Morgan stared up at the stars and smiled slightly, comforted by Peter's words. Her daddy may not be here, but he'll always be watching. Her eyes started to droop with fatigue, "I love you, Daddy, 3000."

From the moment they first clapped eyes on each other, Peter grief-stricken and lost, Morgan confused and wary, there was this sort of feeling — deeper than friendship, older than either of them. Like they already knew each other, maybe. Like they already understood they'd know each other for life.

She was attached to his hip the rest of the evening. Bonded together. She asked him questions and slowly watched as peter Parker's eyes lit up and he crawled out of his shell.

She faintly remembered Peter carrying her up to her bedroom and her mom tucking her in, with Peter in the background.

. . . . .

Like most apartments of the dusted, the Parker's home was looted and destroyed, ultimately leaving May and Peter with a month of hard work to refurbish their home. So Peter and May stayed at the Stark's home with Pepper and Morgan.

"_Of course we have a room for you here," Pepper says with a faint smile as she shows Peter and May to their guest bedrooms, across the hall from one another. "I think that Tony even-"_

_Pepper faltered, and shot Peter a look, as if she wasn't sure if she should continue. "I think that he even kept some of your stuff in here." Like he always planned for you to come back. _

It was a month of eating juice pops on the stairs, playing in the forest and in the fields, answering Morgan's endless, curious, questions. A month where time moved too fast and didn't move at all.

Morgan and Peter got to know each other. Morgan thought she already knew everything about Peter, through her dad's stories, but she learned much more by just watching him. He reminded her of her dad.

The two were there for eachother, spending every waking moment together when Peter wasn't in Queens with May. He held her on her bad days, when all she could do was sit and cry, a hollow feeling in her chest. He helped her watch her dad's hologram. She memorized it. Every movement, every word, every tick and facial expression. Peter told her about his dad and about his Uncle Ben. About what it was like to lose them. It made her feel less lonely. Like someone understood what she was going through. She distracted him on his bad days. With toys and outside adventures. By playing with her action figures.

It was Saturday, a day where Peter stayed with the Starks instead of heading out to the city with May. Morgan quickly vaulted out of bed, ready for the day. Peter promised her he would take her swinging in the trees today. Morgan quickly grabbed her jacket and her tiny slippers before opening her door, quietly padding by her mother's door, careful not to wake her if she was still sleeping, and then opened Peter's door. Unlike most days, he wasn't there. His bed was empty and cold.

Morgan pursed her lips and padded out of his room, confused. He promised he would be here today to play. And one thing Morgan learned quickly about Peter Parker was that he never broke his promises.

Morgan padded down the stairs, met with the smell of breakfast. Her eyes drifted to the counter top in the kitchen, a plate of french toast on it. Her heart panged sadly at the sight of the kitchen. Her dad would always be there when she woke up, nursing a cup of coffee, making smoothies, laughing and cooking with her mom, or sleeping from an all nighter.

Morgan's eyes drifted to the window, where through it she saw he mother and Aunt May outside gardening. The two seemed to be having a relaxed conversation, the morning sun hitting them and illuminating their smiles. Pepper's eyes were still sad, not totally back to normal, but every day lightened up more and more to where they were previously. But deep down Morgan knew they would never light up like they used to. When Tony would kiss her and love her.

Morgan blinked quickly and padded down the hallway in their home. She opened the door to the garage, where her dad's untouched lab was. Her father's voice illuminated her ears, drawing her closer down the stairs, towards the garage. Once she was halfway down the stairs, her eyes caught sight of Peter sitting down on one of the chairs, staring at Tony's hologram. Peter's back faced her.

Her dad's last passion project was still sitting on the table, the empty mug, the trash from a candy bar, untouched. No one dared to touch it. But her focus wasn't on that, her focus was on Peter and her dad's hologram.

"-don't blame yourself, Peter. But, that's easier said than done isn't it?" Hologram Tony sat down from his standing position, "Hopefully, I succeeded in beating that purple grape and brought you back. I hope we were able to see eachother again, _alive, _but just in case I've decided to do a little video message for you." Hologram Tony smiled slightly, "If you're watching this you better be crying. I expect sobbing. Okay? But don't scream or curse or anything because I don't want Morgan to hear you. I already taught her _shit_, which is a little embarrassing for me. But - I'm getting off track. Damn" Hologram Tony sat pensive for a while, "I hope you've met her, kid. Morgan. She's a wonderful kid... Like you. She'll need you, since I'm probably gone by now. Protect her for me? Take care of her. She already knows who you are, she already loves you. But hug her for me? And Kid, I know you. I know that you'll hurt and blame yourself for something you can't prevent. For something I chose to sacrifice myself for. I want you to live your life to the fullest." Tony wiped the tear that rolled down his cheek. "And you're one of the best things that happened in my crappy life. You. Morgan. Pepper. Rhodey. Happy. Me. We're one small family so we have to have each other's back. I love you, kid." And then Tony was gone.

"You had so many people that loved you," Peter murmured to himself, "A wife, a daughter, Happy, your best friend." He shook his head. "You were so selfless. Couldn't stop yourself from fixing everything. And you gave it all up for…" Peter shut his mouth tightly, forming a thin line. He clenches his hand, and closed his eyes painfully.

Morgan stood up and padded down the stairs. She stared up at Peter, and Peter, sensing her presence opened his eyes. He gazed down painfully at her. Morgan took his hand in hers.

"Bad day?"

Peter nodded, a tear sliding down his cheek, "Bad day."

. . . .

The sound of soft chatter and clattering utensils filled the dining room of the Stark household. Pepper and May were chatting with each other, while Peter was silent and was listening to Morgan ramble on excitedly about this movie she wanted to watch.

The sound of Peter's phone broke up the soft chatter and Peter swiped it out of his pocket, read the caller ID, declined, and quietly stuffed it back in his pocket.

Morgan's curious eyes were on him and May and Pepper stared at him, a look in their eyes.  
"That was the second time in the past," May glanced at the clock, "30 minutes."

Peter continued to stare down at his plate of sweet potatoes and chicken, "Mhm." He couldn't dare to look up to see their expressions. Their sorrowful gazes. Like all the saw was how broken he was. He gulped.

"You should pick it up, Peter." May's soft voice pulled his eyes up.

He swallowed as he stared at May. He knew she wanted to help. But he couldn't stand the way she and Pepper were gazing at him, with pity and gloom. Like he was a piece of what he used to be.

He set down his utensils and stood up, shooting Pepper as warm as a smile he could muster up, "Thank you for dinner, it was lovely." He ignored their gazes, especially Morgan's curious one, made his way over to the sink, washed his dish quickly, and retreated up to his room.

He opened his Stark Phone back up and stared at his phone history, seeing the two missed calls. His finger lingered over her contact, shaking slightly, before the creak of the door caught his attention. He looked up to see Morgan's curious gaze.

Peter smiled slightly, the expression coming easily to his face as Morgan sat down on his bed next to him. She stared down at his phone history.  
"Who is it?"

Peter blinked down at her, wondering why this five year old was so damn smart, and then remembering her parents were literally Pepper Potts and Tony Stark.

Peter gulped and sighed, "MJ."

Morgan's eyebrows furrowed, "MJ?" She looked up at Peter, "Who's MJ?"

"She was-" Peter shook his head "Is my friend."

Morgan pursed her lips, "Like Ned?"

"I mean…" Peter stared out the window, at the sunset, "A little different than Ned."

Morgan was silent for a moment before she stood up, "You should call her." She then grabbed Peter's hands, ready to move on to the next subject, "Let's go paint."

That night, after Morgan was tucked in and had painted everything she desired, Peter laid in bed, his gaze and finger lingering over MJ's contact again.

He brought the phone up to his ear, listening to his phone ring. It came to the last ring and he sighed, his eyes drooping.

"Parker?"

Peter's eyes opened in surprise. The sound of her voice caused him to smile involuntarily, "MJ."

. . . .

Peter hadn't really returned to Queens since the day the aliens came to Earth, and he got beamed up in a spaceship trying to save a wizard. Five years ago. He still couldn't believe it was five years. He's only gone to his apartment, not having the heart to wander around and check up on the neighborhood. The neighborhood he loved so dearly.

Superficially, his neighborhood looks mostly the same, just… hollowed out. It was shabby before, sure, but now it looks derelict. Uncared-for. Unlived-in.

Here and there, though, he could already see places where people started to patch things up. Move back in to buildings.

Peter is sitting on a bench in a familiar park in Queens, where he, Ned, and MJ would occasionally hang after school, when he sees her. She looks the same, which is refreshing to Peter. She's still MJ. Her hair is pulled up into a messy bun, she's wearing a grey sweatshirt and black ripped jeans. Her eyes meet his and they maintain the eye contact.

Peter stands up and she walks up to him. She smirks, a hint of sadness in her eyes, "Hey, loser."

It feels like the ground underneath his feet is really solid for the first time since he got to Queens. The tightness in his chest that has been there since Tony's funeral – no, since the battlefield – loosens just a little bit. He doesn't falter when he pulls her into a hug, grateful and relieved to feel her in his grasp.

She tightens up for a few seconds before he feels her relax in his embrace. She wraps her arms around him as well. After a few moment, she pulls away.

"H-hey, MJ." Peter shifted his weight on his feet and put his hands in his pockets.

She looks at him, assessing, but there's something softer in her gaze that he doesn't remember being there before. And something distant, an emptiness, that he recognizes. It's in his eyes too.

She sits down next to him on the bench. The two sit in silence for awhile, comforted by each other's presence. Before, Peter would have felt the urge to fill this silence with a nervous stream of consciousness, but lately, he's found that the words just don't come to him anymore.

He's not aware that she's studying him quietly, her eyes narrowed slightly in concentration. Classic MJ.

Peter decides to break the silence, "So…" His throat goes dry and he glances at MJ, meeting her eyes.

Her eyes search him and he doesn't need to finish his sentence. She already knows. MJ shrugs, casually. "I got… dusted… or whatever. But my dad didn't. So… he was alone for." MJ blinked. "Five years."

Peter doesn't know what to say. "I wish I could say something that would help," he says eventually, his voice low. "That must be really tough."

MJ looks back at him with a look in her eyes, something he can't quite decipher. He tries to smile, which he's sure came out more like a grimace.

MJ wipes at one eye with the heel of her hand and looks up at Peter. "What about you?" she asks.

Peter hesitates letting her change the subject. "I, uh… yeah. I disappeared too," he says.

He's assaulted by memories of the red, bright sun on Titan; staggering forwards in pain, clutching onto Tony's arms. He forces them away. "So uh, so did my aunt. I was on the field trip, and uh…"

He stops. He knows she knows

"And you left," MJ says evenly. "You climbed out of the window of the school bus. I watched you go."

Peter nodded.

"And you're Spider-Man," MJ says.

"I'm not-" Peter begins automatically, and then gives up. What's the point? "How did you figure it out?"

Michelle shrugs. "You're not very slick."

Peter nods. He turned to face her again and opened his mouth but nothing came out. He closed it again. Michelle stared back at him. She could read him so easily.

"I wanted to check up on you." MJ started. "I heard. About Tony Stark."

Peter wasn't even aware of his grip on the armrest of the bench. He ripped his eyes off of Michelle and stared out at the distance. "Yeah." His throat was suddenly dry.

Michelle watched the shift in his demeanor. In his eyes. "You… knew him, didn't you?" MJ asks softly. Peter sucks in a breath, and it's hard – his chest is too tight. It hurts. The sun is too bright. The red sun on Titan- Tony's face, burned on the battlefield, his eyes staring at nothing- lifeless.

Peter feels a crunching under his hand and both his and MJ's eyes flutter to it. Peter stared down at the crunched metal armest under his hand and he lets go off it weakly. "I'll fix that later." Peter murmured, staring at MJ weakly.

The two are silent for the next few minutes again. Cherishing each others company. MJ breaks it though.

"I'm sorry." She whispers, gazing back at Peter, emotion in her voice. "I just-I don't know-" her voice fades off and Peter stared back at her empty face, her eyes lost.

"We'll move on." He spoke up, his voice stronger than before. Flashes of May and Morgan and Pepper went through his head.

"How?" Michelle whispered, gazing back at him.

Peter thinks about Morgan, her bright face, her hopeful life. "There's people who need us. There's still people to protect."

He meets MJ's eyes and smiles slightly. She smiles softly back at him.

* * *

As Morgan grew older, she started to get it more. The sadness at the funeral. People say grief heals with time, but it seemed to be exactly the opposite with her. The older Morgan got, the more grief she endured.

On the anniversary of her father's death, April 26, when Morgan was 6, she had her first nightmare. She woke up screaming, crying, tears rolling down her face. Pepper could barely console her, holding her daughter tightly, wiping the tears off of her face, trying to care for her grieving daughter. Six was too young. It wasn't fair.

She eventually fell back asleep after being held in her mother's embrace for nearly three hours. She woke up hours later, an empty and hollow feeling in her chest. She couldn't get out of bed. Couldn't find the will or the strength.

She was faintly aware of the door creaking open. Morgan's red and swollen eyes met Peter's gentle ones as he quietly walked up next to her bedside. He smiled sadly at her and sat down, on the bed, caressing her cheek.

Morgan's bottom lip began to tremble and she broke out in a guttural sob. Peter leaned down to grab her and murmured consoling words in her ear, holding her close. She placed her head on his shoulder and cried and cried and cried until she couldn't anymore.

"Why do I feel like this?" Morgan whispered, her voice trembling. Peter's heart ached and he looked down at her, watching her broken expression.

Peter kissed the top of her head, "Because you lost someone important. You have every right to cry."

Peter could feel her trembling in his embrace, trying not to cry. "I don't understand. It's not fair."

Peter felt a lump in his throat and he gulped, blinking quickly. "I know, Morgan. I'm sorry."

"I just," Morgan hiccuped, "I want to be strong. For mommy. She's so sad."

Peter's heart panged and he closed his eyes again, tightening his grip around her. "Just because you have emotions or you cry doesn't mean you're weak, okay?" Peter loosened his grip around her for a moment and the two made eye contact, his eyes hard. "I'm always here, Morg, if you need to talk. If you need to cry. It doesn't make you weak."

Morgan stared up at Peter for a few moments before she nodded, "I know." She placed her head back on Peter's chest, listening to his heartbeat. "What-What was it like when you lost your dad?"

Peter was silent for a few moments before he replied, his voice soft. "I don't remember most of it. But I remember I was sad. And confused. It took time."

"What was he like?"

"I don't remember a lot about him. But I remember he was nice. And caring. He was a good dad."

Morgan looked back up at Peter, meeting his eyes. "I don't want to forget daddy."

Peter looked back down at her, wiping the hair out of her face, "You won't. I promise. I won't let you."

Morgan blinked, "I miss him."

"I do too, Morg. I do too."

Morgan looked out the window, at the sky. "He's up there?"  
Peter nodded, smiling sadly, "He's always here."

. . . . .

The only thing currently keeping Peter awake was Ned's consistent chatter. He wasn't even sure what Ned was talking about, but when did he ever really know?

Peter was resting his head in his arms on the metal, dirty lunch table across from Ned. He opened his eye for a moment, glancing up, just long enough to make eye contact with MJ who was sitting next to Ned. She shrugged and took another sip of her tea, an amused smirk on her face.

Peter smiled softly at her and then shut his eyes again, the chatter of his classmates in the cafeteria lulling him into sleep.

Normally, he wouldn't be sleeping at lunch. He would be chatting alongside Ned, listening to him talk about his new friendship with Betty, doing homework, or talking about Star Wars, but Peter hadn't been really sleeping lately.

He usually wouldn't have been sleeping because of his Spiderman activities, but the truth was he had barely touched the suit since he'd been undusted or whatever. He left the iron spider suit at the Starks, it bringing back too many harsh memories. Instead he was using his basic spandex suit. The only time he had dawned it was after Morgan was pestering him non stop to show him, to talk to Karen, to go swinging through the trees. He couldn't say no to her.

"So how has Spidermaning been?" Ned asked one afternoon after school, walking back to their apartments.

Peter only blinked, a little in surprise but mostly fatigue. "Okay."

Ned shot Peter a look, pursing his lips. "Really? Because I haven't seen any footage of you anywhere, dude."

They stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the light to change. Peter bit his lip, his grip on his school books tightening and his foot began to patter against the concrete.

"Is the suit like, broken or something? Did you need to repair it you know- after?"

Peter took in a shaky breath, dreading where Ned was getting at. He shot Ned a look, but Ned didn't seem to sense his discomfort.

"Do you need help with it dude?"

Peter's chest felt heavy and visions of Thanos and his army clouded his eyes. He blinked fast, memories of Tony's eyes starting to cloud his memories. Memories of Karen putting on instant kill. Ned placed a hand on Peter's shoulder and Peter basically jumped, startling Ned. He looked at Ned with a frantic look on his face and Ned dropped his hand from his best friends shoulder fast, like fire, a look on his face. Emotion in his eyes.

Peter hated that look.

But the real reason he couldn't sleep was the constant nightmares. He could barely close his eyes before scenes of Titan, of the destroyed Avengers compound, of Thanos' army almost engulfing him, of the bombs dropped on the battlefield, of Tony Stark's lifeless eyes, his arc reactor burning out. He couldn't sleep. Coffee had become his best friend.

Suddenly, a loud bang rang out through the cafeteria. Peter's head flew up, finding the scene of the sound instantly. A few of the lunch ladies had dropped plates on the concrete floor. He gulped, memories of bombs on the battlefield littering his mind. He wasn't even aware of his hands shaking before he felt MJ grab one of them, steadying it.

Peter glanced at his two friends sitting across from him for a moment before his phone in his pocket began to ring. Peter pulled it out quickly, rendering Pepper's ID before he got up and basically sprinted out of the cafeteria, without saying anything to his friends.

His chest tightened with apprehension at the sight of her caller ID. Something had to be wrong. She knew his schedule, not calling until he was out of school.

Peter gulped and answered the facetime call. Instead of Pepper answering, the screen loaded to Morgan's face, who was giggling to herself outside on her porch. "Petey! I found mom's phone!"

Peter let out a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. A ghost of a smile hinted over his lips as relief filled his veins, "I see that." Everything was okay.

Morgan giggled again, her eyes lighting up, "When are you going to come visit again? Mommy bought me new paints! And she said that you could help me with my robot."

Peter sat down on a bench outside and stared down at Morgan's gleeful face, the deepness in his chest lightening a bit. "Morg, it's Monday, I was there yesterday." He chuckled a little when she made a face, her brows furrowing.

"So!?" She blinked down at Peter and held it closer to her face so Peter could only see her left eye and eyebrow, almost like she thought if she got closer to the phone she could see Peter clearer, "Where are you?"

"School," Peter replied, rubbing the back on his neck. "I had to go back to school, Morg."

"Oh," realization dawned on Morgan's face before a voice came over the phone.

"Morgan who are you talking to? Is that my phone?"  
"Oops," Morgan whispered with wide eyes. Peter watched her stare at her mother, a sheepish look on her face. Peter smiled automatically.

Peter watched as Pepper kneeled down to look at the phone screen. "Peter!" Pepper smiled slightly, "Is she bothering you?" Morgan's brows furrowed again as she shot her mother a look, a look that was so similar to Tony's many dramatic reactions.

Peter shook his head, "No, don't worry she's fine."

Pepper rolled her eyes fondly and then stared back down at Peter through the phone screen. He was aware of her observing him, his dark under eyes, the tired look on his face. She was looking at him with that look. Everyone was.

Peter cleared his throat, his eyes going downcast slightly.

Pepper smiled again, a little sadly. "Well, make sure to call. Are you planning on coming back up this weekend?"  
Before Peter could even open his mouth Morgan giggled with excitement, "Yes! Yes, yes he is!"

"Well," Peter smiled, "I can't say no to that."

Pepper glanced down at her daughter fondly, "Okay, say goodbye to Peter."

Peter watched as Morgan blew a kiss at him, her eyes sparkling. Peter pretended to catch it on the other side of the line, blowing one back.

Pepper stood up with the phone, Peter's screen only showing her face. Her eyes were slightly concerned, "Take care of yourself, Peter."

Peter nodded, "Yeah, you too, Mrs. Potts." He could still faintly hear Morgan in the background giggling.

The call disconnected and Peter set the phone back down, staring out at the sky. The sound of Morgan's voice and her excited giggles still ringing in his ear.

She was the one person who still saw him as just Peter. Whole Peter. Not someone who looked at him like he was a fragment of who he used to be. The one person who sees him as somebody whole. She reminded him of Tony. She has her father's hair, she has her father's brain. She smiles with his smile and her laugh makes something in Peter's heart hurt.

He just sat there, his hands in his pocket, trying to steady his beating heartbeat. Breath in and out. It used to come automatically, but now he has to think about it. Think to do basic things. To make sure his heart doesn't beat rapidly out of his chest. To think to eat. To go to class on time. To sleep. Or pretend he's sleeping. Pretend he's remembering to eat. Pretend he doesn't still wake up in the middle of the night, fresh from the nightmare of the final battle, of the constant rhythm of you failed, you failed, you failed.

He knows it's not his fault, but he can't shake the feeling. He knows it will take time, and he knows it will all be okay in the long run. Besides, he's kind of an expert with griefing, if that's even a thing.

Peter's brought back to reality when he hears the old creaky door to the back of his school open. He looked up, making eye contact with MJ who's walking towards him. She sits down next to him silently, pulling something out of her backpack. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

She basically forces it into his hands, "You haven't eaten anything."

Peter blinks down at the sandwich, such a gentle yet compassionate gesture. He looks back up at MJ who had pulled out her book, burying her nose into it.

He looked back down at the sandwich, his heart fluttering instead of falling. He finds himself smiling, the expression feeling odd on his face, but refreshing.

* * *

Morgan was seven years old when she watched Peter fight for the first time. She wasn't actually there, thankfully, but she had seen it on TV before her mother had the chance to turn it off.

He was in Europe, fighting these insane weird elemental monsters, Morgan didn't really understand what was going on. All she knew was that it made her nervous, and she could barely sleep since she saw the footage on the TV.

At first she was in aww, seeing him in his suit. She had only seen Spiderman in action through her fathers stories, through footage online, through her imagination. Peter had refused to put on the suit since he came back, Morgan didn't really understand why.

But then she quickly realized he was in the suit for a reason, and then the second she saw the footage of the scenes in Europe, she began to develop a bad feeling in her stomach.

She had been eavesdropping on her mother's phone calls with Aunt May, desperately trying to figure out what was going on, but no one would tell her anything. Happy or Rhodey or her mother, and even Aunt May, came and visited every day when Peter was gone, distracting her with cooking, fishing, painting, anything to get the girl's apprehensive mind off of Peter.

The only thing that finally allowed the girl to finally rest and to relax was actually seeing Peter. She remembered standing outside the airport, holding onto her mom's hand tightly. She wasn't used to huge crowds, and the hustle outside the terminal at the airport made her nervous. Her mom was gently stroking her hair while standing next to May.

She remembered finally understanding why she was at the airport. Her big, apprehensive yet curious eyes fell on Peter, walking out of the doors of the airport terminal, holding a leather suitcase. She identified some people around him, his age, probably his classmates. His eyes scanned the crowd, finally resting on Morgan, Pepper, and May. Peter's eyes filled with relief and he started walking towards the group faster. He began to jog, then ran towards the three.

Morgan watched Peter set his suitcase down and enveloped his aunt in a deep hug. She couldn't hear what the two were saying to each other, but she could see the relief in their eyes, the emotion in the embrace. May kissed the top of Peter's head, a smile on her face.

Her mother hugged Peter next, a bright, grateful look on her face. Morgan made eye contact with Peter and instantly jumped into his arms. He kneeled down, encasing Morgan into a hug, holding onto her tight. Morgan wrapped her arms around Peter's neck, cuddling her head into his comfort. Peter rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head, "Her Morg."

"Don't leave again," Morgan sniffled, her eyes tearing up and her voice quivering slightly.

Peter pulled away from her slightly, staring at her with care and slight concern on his face. "I won't. I won't, I'm sorry."

Morgan hiccuped, smiling with relief. Peter wiped a tear off of her cheek and encased her into another hug. He picked her up, hoisting her up with his strong arms. Morgan lifted her head from his neck, looking back up at the airport scene.

Peter turned to face two of his friends. Morgan instantly recognized Ned. She had seen him on many of Peter's facetime calls when he stayed over on the weekends. She didn't recognize the girl standing next to him though. She was tall and pretty. Morgan stared at her with curiosity.

"Hey guys," Peter spoke up, clearing his voice thick of emotion, "This is Morgan." He looked down at Morgan, "Morgan this is Ned and MJ."

Morgan wrapped her arms around Peter's neck shyly, "Hi."

Ned smiled brightly, waving excitedly, "Hi Morgan!"

MJ smiled softly at her, waving.

Morgan smiled shyly and then stared back at Peter, "Can we go get ice cream?"  
She could feel Peter chuckle under her, "Yes, let's go get some ice cream."

. . . . .

Later that year, Peter graduated high school alongside his friends. Morgan remembered the day clearly. She was so excited to go into the city. To watch Peter graduate high school. She remembered they went out for ice cream and then went to the grocery store afterwards. Happy was with them, along with Ned and MJ.

They went to the lake house, and played outside all night. Cooking cheeseburgers, swimming in the lake, laying on the dock, staring at the sky. Morgan remembered a happy and warm feeling in her chest that whole night. She liked Peter's friends. Ned made her laugh, asked as extreme and weird questions as she did. MJ had this mysterious, calm, yet endearing vibe surrounding her that pulled Morgan in. Morgan liked swimming with her in silence. MJ helped Morgan cook cheeseburgers, even though MJ was a vegetarian. And Morgan liked how happy Peter was around the two. He seemed to brighten up, the lost look in his eyes that had inhabited them for the past few years disappearing, a bright smile on his face.

After the Europe trip, Spider Man began to make many more appearances in town. The crime rate had skyrocketed, as suspected, and Peter was working tirelessly to bring it back down, occasionally along with Rhodey, Sam, Bucky, Wanda, and sometimes Clint. But New York was usually just handled by Peter while the others dealt with more international issues. Talk of rebuilding an Avengers compound started up, along with some actual rough drafts. Pepper started to rebuild Stark Industries, helping with relief programs for the poor, to rebuild cities, for mental health.

The lake house began to feel like a empty shadow of what it used to be without Tony in it. It became painful for Pepper to live in, consequently resulting in Pepper and Morgan spending many nights with May and Peter in their small two bedroom apartment. Pepper began to recontrust Avengers tower, renaming it to Stark tower. She gave a good portion of the tower to Bruce who began to use it for medical research.

A few months later Peter, May, Happy, Rhodey, along with Sam and even Bucky helped Pepper and Morgan move out of the lake house and into an apartment in Manhattan. Morgan remembered staring at the house. It wasn't empty. Furniture was still crowded around the house, but all the personal belongings, the things that made it seem like home, were gone. All the pictures. All her cluttered toys. They were packed up. Her mother didn't sell the house. They kept it furnished for weekends. To visit. The house wasn't gone and the memories it housed weren't either. But it was still hard.

Morgan remembered feeling sad when all the boxes were packed up in Sam's truck. She sat on the stairs to her daddy's garage, staring at the now clean lab. The old wrappers were gone, the tools he was using put back in the drawers.

Peter sat down next to her on the creaky wooden stairs. He rubbed the top of her head, messing up her hair. She would usually giggle, but didn't this time, staring at her dad's lab. Peter frowned slightly, "You good, little miss?"  
Morgan shrugged. She didn't exactly know why she was feeling this way. "I'm going to miss this house."

Peter stared down at her, "Yeah, yeah." His gaze traveled over the lab. "But I promise we'll visit whenever you want. Now that I have a driver's license I'm at your beck and call."

Morgan finally smiled slightly, giggling. "Okay, Petey."

That year, on April 26, they spend the day at the lakehouse. Celebrating Tony's life. There were still tears, countless tears, but the day was filled with more happiness and celebration than years past. The city unveiled an Iron Man monument that had been under construction. Flowers and signs of love and gratefulness were sent to the house, left at the monument, put all around the country. It made Morgan happy, to see her father's legacy and memories living on through the population. It made her proud to be called a Stark. She fell asleep that night with a smile on her face and a heavy heart.

* * *

A year later Morgan had another nightmare. She woke up with the same lonely feeling years past. It was the week before the anniversary of her father's death. Three years.

Her mother was out of state, meeting with the leaders of Wakanda and others with rebuilding efforts. To improve and provide technology to families and to countries in need. Morgan was proud of her mom, but she wasn't used to her being gone.

The week before Pepper had to leave she reserved the whole week to spend with Morgan. The last time her mother left she didn't come back with her dad, she came back sad and alone. And the thought of her mother leaving, even for a few days, made Morgan apprehensive.

She was staying at the Parkers which made it easier. May had taken a few days off of work, showing Morgan around town while Peter was at Stark Tower with the rest of the Avengers or out Spidermaning. Then when Peter came home they would watch movies. Sometimes his friends would visit, which made Morgan happy.

Morgan slowly got out of Peter's bed, her feet hitting the cold rug. She quietly padded out into the living room of the Parkers apartment, where Peter was laying on the couch. He was wrapped in a blanket, his head propped up by a pillow. He wasn't asleep, instead talking quietly into his phone pulled up to his ear.

Morgan walked closer to the couch, watching him. He had a small dopey smile on his face, biting his lip as he listened to whoever was on the other line. His eyes met Morgan's and he blinked, surprised. His smile fell and he sat up, the blanket falling onto the floor. "MJ, I'm gonna have to call you back." A few seconds later Peter put his phone down, asserting all of his attention onto the little girl. "Hey." He observed the sad expression on her face and opened up his arms, "Come here."  
Morgan immediately complied, laying down into his embrace. He leaned back down on the couch, stroking her hair soothingly and wrapping the blanket around her. "What's wrong?"  
"I miss mommy," Morgan whispers, keeping her voice down.

"Do you want to call her?" Peter asks, peering down at the little girls face.

Morgan shook her head, "No." The two are silent for a few moments, Peter just comforting the girl before she whispered, "I miss daddy."

Peter dropped his head, "I'm sorry, squirt."

Morgan's eyes shifted up to the window, where she could faintly see the stars. Most of them were unable to see though, due to light pollution. "The stars are so much clearer at the lakehouse," she whispered, "Daddy's clearer there."

Peter rubbed her arm, "Even if there might be no stars, I promise, he's still there. Watching you. He's so proud of how strong you are, Morgan. He loves you."

Morgan huffed in relaxation as she began to drift off, "I love him too." She glanced up at Peter's eyes, "Can you tell me about him?"

"What do you want to know?"

Morgan snuggled closer into the blanket, "How did you two meet?"

Peter was pensive for a moment before replying, "He showed up at my apartment, this apartment, one day when I got home from school."

Morgan smiled, "He used to tell me how nervous you were. Stuttering." She giggled slightly, "I always loved his bedtime stories."

"He saved me countless times. I was a little, no okay, pretty reckless. Looking back at it I'm surprised he didn't yell at me more. But then I learned and…" Peter shrugged, "He taught me about the suits, about Stark Industries, he was a really good mentor."

Peter ruffled her hair, "Your dad is one of the most selfless people I've ever met. He taught me alot. A lot of people loved him - love him." He smiled sadly, his eyes darkening slightly.

Morgan looked up at him, "Don't be sad, loser."

Peter blinked in surprise and furrowed his brows. "Loser?" He glanced down at her and rolled his eyes with fondness, "You've been spending too much time with MJ."

"I like MJ."

The two were silent for a few moments. Morgan continued to stare out at the stars. "Can I have a juice pop?"

"It's 1 am."

"Sooo-" Morgan pursed her lips, "Yes?"

"No."

Morgan furrowed her brows and made a face, "No?"

Peter cocked a brow at her, "Mhm?"

Morgan narrowed her eyes and was about to protest when Peter began to tickle her. She squealed with joy and Peter put a finger over her lips to silence her. He raised his brows, his eyes amused. "Shhh."

Morgan giggled, "Juice pops!"

Peter stared down at her face and then sighes, "In the morning. Okay?"

Morgan held up her pinky finger, "Promise?"

Peter grinned, and put his around hers, "Promise."

The two laid down on the couch and Morgan spoke up, her voice muffled by the blanket. "It's a pinky promise, you have to, no take backsies."

Peter closed his eyes, "Morgan I am fluent in the rules of pinky promises."

"Loser."

"That word is reserved for MJ."

Morgan grinned and closed her eyes, Peter's heartbeat lulling her to sleep. "You're a good big brother, Petey."

Peter could have cried right there and then.

* * *

The next year when Morgan turned 9, she asked her mom if she could go to public school. With a lot of convincing from her, her mother eventually agreed. Morgan started 4th grade. She loved all her classmates and couldn't wait to go to school each day.

The school tried to get Pepper to agree to have Morgan skip grades but Pepper refused, wanting to give Morgan the chance to a normal childhood. A childhood Tony never was able to have. Even though the curriculum was way too easy for Morgan, school was fun and exciting.

Pepper and Happy would drop her off in the morning and Peter would pick her up after school, usually going to get sandwiches from Del Mar's or ice cream before either bringing her back to his and May's apartment or back to Stark Tower or back to Morgan and Pepper's apartment.

Morgan was truly Tony's daughter. While she inherited the artistic and creative side of her mother and loved painting and drawing, she also inherited the mechanic gene from Tony. She loved going into the lab with Peter. She honestly got excited when he would rip or damage his suit. It meant going into the lab to fix it. Uncle Bruce taught her a few things. She loved learning and building.

Pepper had allowed her to inspect a few of her father's iron man suits a couple of times, but only under the close supervision of an adult. She was fascinated with them. A couple times a month she would find Peter in the Iron man storage unit of the tower, cleaning all the dust off of them they collected from the lack of use. He always did it.

That year they had a bring your parent into school day. Pepper couldn't not attend so Peter did. It made her sad to see everyone's parents coming into to school, especially people's dad's, but she didn't want anyone to know. But Peter found out, like he always did, and he pulled her out early and they spent the day at the lakehouse. She was thankful for that.

One day after school, Morgan was at the Parker's apartment. May was at work and MJ and Peter were the only two at the apartment with her. Morgan had finished her homework hours ago and was lounging on the couch, reading one of MJ's college physics book she had stolen from the young woman's backpack.

"What are you reading?" Peter asked, setting down a plate of fruit in front of Morgan. She looked up from the book and glanced at the plate of fruit Peter set down in front of her on the coffee table.

"A physics book." Morgan replied nonchalantly. She set it down and sat up, grabbing a few grapes from Peter's fruit bowl.

Peter blinked down at the little girl, who thought reading a physics book at 9 was the simplest thing in the world. "Okay." He shrugged, glancing at an amused MJ who was sitting on the counter, writing an essay. MJ smirked at him, looking back down at her computer screen.

Morgan plopped the grapes in her mouth, and grinned. She looked at the plate of fruit and then back up at Peter, "You're so motherly."

Peter furrowed his brows, "What?"

"You just made me a plate of fruit without me even asking!"

"That's not- that's not motherly," Peter insisted, looking between Morgan and MJ, "that's just nice!"

"It is kind of motherly," MJ piped up from the counter.

Morgan grinned wider, "Told you."

Peter narrowed his eyes and glanced up and down Morgan's body. His eyes centered on her shoes, "No shoes in the living room." He then walked back to the kitchen.

MJ snorted and Morgan rolled her eyes, "okay, mother."

Peter rolled his eyes, "All you've eaten today is ice cream. I don't want Pepper killing me in my sleep."

"Mother."

"Squirt."

"I'm too old for that nickname!"

Morgan picked up an apple from the plate and was about to eat it before a white web appeared and flicked it out of her hand. She stared at Peter in shock as she grabbed the apple from her smugly and took a big bite out of it. He wiggled his eyebrows at her and Morgan rolled her eyes, grabbing the physics book and continuing her reading.

Morgan must have fell asleep because when she woke up again, the physics book flat on her face, it was dark outside.

Morgan grumbled and moved the book out of her face. At some point Peter must have put a blanket on her and she moved it off of her body, blinking groggily. The plate of fruit was gone and Morgan could hear quite chatters from the kitchen.

Morgan stretched and yawned and stood up walking towards the kitchen. She stopped once her eyes focused on Peter and Michelle. They hadn't seen her yet.

The two were talking with hushed voices, bright smiles on both of their faces. Peter wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. MJ rolled her eyes fondly and Morgan's eyes widened to see Peter holding Michelle so close. But she still didn't interrupt.

She watched as Peter leaned down slightly to kiss MJ. MJ wrapped her arms around Peter's neck and deepened the kiss. Morgan watched as Peter picked MJ up and set her down on the counter, the two continuing to kiss.

"I KNEW IT!"

MJ and Peter spluttered away from each other. Peter's eyes were wide and his face turned a deep shade of red when he turned and met Morgan's amused eyes and huge shit-eating grin. "I KNEW IT! How long?"

MJ covered her face with her hands and shook it, laughing silently. Peter continued to sputter around with wide eyes and pointed a shaking finger at her. "Don't tell your mom!"

* * *

Morgan's 10 when it was the 5 year anniversary of her father's death. They learn about the avengers in school, they talk about Tony Stark. It feels weird to see your last name and your parents pictures in textbooks.

On April 26, a huge memorial takes place in New York. Everyone attends; Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, Bucky, Sam, Wanda, Clint, Scott, and more. Spiderman was in attendance from the top of a building, but Peter didn't show his face. His secret identity was still important to him. Morgan was even there, up on the stage sitting next to Happy. The crowd startled her but as long as she was holding Happy's hand she was fine.

They called her a prodigy, a product of tragedy. All the attention made her nervous and at the end of the day she was more than happy to retreat from media and public eye. Morgan had no idea how her dad grew up in the spotlight.

That night they all went to the lakehouse. They cooked and shared stories and laughed and played games. Morgan watched the hologram again. She hadn't watched it in a long time, it scaring her slightly. It felt so foreign and she couldn't make it through the entirety of it all.

She watched it with her mom and cried. Her dad looked so different than what she remembered. And that night she couldn't sleep.

She was terrified of forgetting her father. She knows he loves her; can recall the way she felt infinite love she looked in to his whiskey-amber eyes, the way he could make her smile. The same as her eyes. Her eyes. But sometimes, she woke up in the middle of the night abruptly, forgetting the sound of his voice. She doesn't tell her mother, not wanting to see the look on her face. She wants to be strong.

But when she sees his hologram again after years of being scared of watching it, she cries harder than she has in years. She hears his voice and sees his face and sees herself in him.

She knows her father saved the world - left an incomparable legacy for every other superhero, every other person, to try to live up to - but sometimes she wonders why did it have to be him? She knows it's a selfish thought. But it's always been her father saving the world. She's heard all the stories; the stories of the bomb, the wormhole, the gauntlet, everything. Why did it have to be him? Couldn't someone else make the ultimate sacrifice?

Her mother finds her in the middle of the night, rewatching the hologram over and over, re-memorizing every word, every movement, ever tick, staring at her father. She held her tight and watched them over and over with her until she fell asleep. She reminded her daughter who her father is, made sure she knows he loves her, made sure she knows he's never really gone.

* * *

Morgan is 11 when she almost watched Peter die. Happy was driving her back from school, going unusually fast. He had barely said hello to Morgan before racing off towards Stark Tower, which raised some red flags.

She didn't understand what the fuss was about until they turned a corner and a flash of red caught her eye. Morgan immediately turned her head to see Spiderman swinging around, battling a green scorpion looking figure. Morgan's eyes widened as she clambered to get closer to the window. The streets were blocked off by police, broken buildings and shattered glass everywhere. Pedestrians were running and some were gathering, stupidly, trying to watch the fight. However, before Morgan could see more, Happy drove off faster, slamming on the gas pedal.

"Happy?!" Morgan asked, her voice quivering slightly. Happy ignored her, shooting her glances through his rearview mirror. Once they drove up to the tower, Morgan sprinted out to the back entrance and to the elevator which FRIDAY opened for her. Her feet were tapping on the ground restlessly and her nerves were flowing freely.

Up at the penthouse was Pepper and May, both watching Peter fighting the scorpion in silence.

Once Morgan stepped foot in the penthouse, her mother turned to face her. Pepper took in her daughters frantic face.

"What's-What's wrong?" Morgan asked, her eyes slightly wide with worry. "What's going on?"  
Pepper could only engulf her daughter in her embrace and hold her hand as they watched the TV. This had happened to her multiple times to her in the past with Tony. Where all she could do was watch some reporter commenting on the scene.

Morgan, Pepper, and May watched the fight in silence. All Morgan could hear was her heart beat.

Her hands were shaking as she watched Spiderman and the Scorpion battle it out. She watched Peter get throw into buildings, weakly getting up before being forced into the fight again. After many minutes of heavy fighting, the air in the room seemed to finally relax once the live footage showed the Scorpion fall on the ground and still.

Morgan let out a deep breath and continued to stare at the footage. It showed Spiderman standing, obviously weak, and then fall to the ground. Then the footage went black.

Morgan began to shake again and cry. Pepper stood up instantly, on the phone, trying to figure out what the situation was. May engulfed Morgan into a hug and led her into her bedroom. May silently soothed the little girl. Whispering sweet assurances in her ear.

It was like she was seven again, watching Peter fight on TV. Feeling helpless. At some point her mother had joined the two in her room, spoke a few words with May. May kissed the top of Morgan's head and left the room quickly, urgency in her pace.

Pepper sat down with Morgan, "Sweetie, he's okay."

"He can't die. He can't die like dad." Morgan whispered, her voice broken.

Pepper held her face, forcing Morgan to meet her eyes, "He's okay." Her mother's eyes were strong, "He's in surgery right now, he's okay."

Morgan shut her eyes forcefully and nodded. Nightmares of her dead dad littering her mind. Pepper tightened her grip around her daughter.

The only thing that slightly cooled her nerves and tears was seeing Peter in the flesh.

After she had calmed down, Pepper had brought her down to the medical wing of the Stark tower. Bruce was there along with other doctors, dressed in dark blue scrubs. He was talking to May, standing outside a door.

Morgan quickened her pace towards May and Bruce. May turned to her, relief evident on her face. "He's in there. He just woke up."

Morgan didn't hesitate and quickly opened the door. She finally let out a breath of relief once her eyes focused on Peter.

He looked pretty worse for wear, a dopey look on his face from all the pain meds and anesthesia from surgery. He had an IV in his arm, stitches on his face and his shoulders and chest were covered in bandages. MJ was sitting next to him holding his hand and talking to him quietly. Her eyes were relieved.

Both her and Peter's eyes shot to Morgan, Peter's slower than MJ due to the drugs.

Morgan instantly started crying again, feeling pretty stupid for her endless tears. Michelle smiled sadly at her and waved for her to come over. Morgan instantly ran up to Michelle, to the side of Peter's bed.

Peter's eyes focused on Morgan's groggily and he smiled. He took in her crying face and he lifted his hand, wiping the tears off of her cheeks.

"That-" Morgan hiccuped, "That was not cool."

Peter laughed slightly and Morgan could hear MJ chuckle behind her.

Michelle stood up and kissed the top of Morgan's head. She then leaned over and kissed Peter's cheek.

"Not even on the lips?" Peter grumbled quietly, smiling dopily up at his girlfriend.

MJ rolled her eyes fondly and ran her hand through Peter's hair. "I'll be back with some food." She then turned to Morgan, who was trying desperately to stop crying out of relief, "Don't kill him, Morgan." She then walked out of the room, leaving Peter and Morgan alone.

Peter turned all of his attention and energy he could muster up towards Morgan, "It's okay, Morg."

Morgan started to cry-laugh and rubbed her eyes. "I can't stop crying. Ugh."

Peter smiled and teased, "It's because you love me."

Morgan rubbed her eyes again, trying to clear them of tears, "I thought I lost you. Like I lost dad."

Peter's smile instantly fell and his face softened. He caressed Morgan's cheek. "Come here." Morgan climbed into Peter's bed, careful not to touch any of his stitches or incisions. After a few minutes of her just crying, Morgan breathed, "I'm sorry."

Peter furrowed his brows, "Why are you apologizing? It's okay to cry."  
Morgan frowned.

Peter peered down at her, "C'mon. Don't go dumb on me now."

Morgan's lips quirked up slightly, but she was still shaking, "Just don't die, okay?"

Peter froze for a moment, before he sighed, "I'm not planning on it, anytime soon." She felt Peter let out a deep breath next to her. "I love you, Morg."

Morgan closed her eyes, "I love you too."

* * *

Peter and Michelle got married when Morgan is 12. It was a small beautiful ceremony in the field next to the river by the newly built Avengers Compound. The flowers had just bloomed and the sky was bright blue, the sun shining.

Ned was Peter's best man and May was Michelle's maid of honor. Even though Morgan was literally 12, she was the flower girl, even though she seemed a little too old for the role. She didn't care. The avengers were in attendance, with a few of Michelle's family members. After they ceremony the ate and danced, got a little tipsy, and then wished the couple farewell on their honeymoon.

Morgan distinctly remembered how happy Peter was. His eyes were sparkling and he couldn't stop smiling, especially after he and MJ were finally pronounced husband and wife. Probably the happiest she had ever seen him. She was happy for them. Peter and MJ deserved each other, fit each other perfectly.

After their first dance, everyone joined them on the dance floor. Peter grabbed Morgan and spun her around, dancing with her crazily. She couldn't stop laughing. It was probably her favorite memory with him. Watching him so carefree, not a worry on his face. Morgan knew her father's death and the Infinity War hadn't been easy on Peter. She was too young to fully understand the pain it inflicted on everyone, but she had been told some stories. She knew he had lost a lot of important people in his life, and it made her happy to see him rebuilding his family. He was finally getting the life he deserved.

. . . . .

On the seventh anniversary of her father's death, Morgan didn't know how to think. It hit her like a ton of bricks. The day before she was perfectly fine, at school with her friends, in the lab with Peter working on his suit, she even helped her Mom cook dinner. But when she woke up on the 26th, she needed to get out. To distract herself.

Sometimes, Morgan Stark hated her father. Hated him for leaving them; for leaving her, for leaving her mom, for leaving Peter, Happy, Rhodey, everyone.

Sometimes, she hated being a Stark. She hated the extra attention at school, the looks when they learned about superheros in class. The attention in public when people recognized her.

"Being a Stark is something special" her mother had told her.

"So is being a Potts." she grumbled back. "I can still change my last name. Maybe Peter will let me be a Parker. No one knows who he is."

Her mother sighed and sat Morgan down, "Being a Stark means you're strong, you're smart, you're brave. Selfless."

Morgan scoffed, feeling her eyes start to burn. "I'm not any of those things."

Pepper stared at her daughter passionately, "Yes. Yes you are." Pepper wiped some hair out of Morgan's face, "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. To your father. You remind me so much of him."

Her father was a hero. Earth's best defender. He saved everyone. But sometimes Morgan found herself despising it. Despising how selfless her father was. Despising that he was a hero and sacrificed his life. Leaving her and her mom.

She hated that the world had more time with her father than she ever would.

You can buy postcards of Tony Stark. You can buy posters. They've made films about him. Wrote books. Built monuments. Everyone knows who he is. But Morgan can barely remember him. He barely seems like a real person anymore.

She hated forgetting what he smelled like, forgetting what his beard felt like when he kissed her goodnight, forgetting his favorite sayings, his dramatic faces, his quirky ticks. Every year her memories of him became blurrier and blurrier. And she hated it. It felt like a stab in the heart.

So when she woke up on the 26th, she needed to get out. Everytime she looked in the mirror it was suffocating, her father's eyes staring back at her. Her eyes.

So that's how she ended up in front of Peter and MJ's new apartment at 5 am.

She knocked on the door, not stopping her knocking until it flew open.

Peter opened the door with a very confused look on his face. He looked tired, rubbing his eyes. He was wearing a sleeping shirt and old basketball shorts.

"Morgan?" He rasped out, his throat dry.

Morgan peered inside the apartment past his figure. Behind him was MJ, dressed in one of Peter's shirt, holding a baseball bat.

"I think you can put down the baseball bat." Morgan spoke up, walking past Peter without saying a word.

Peter closed the door and spun around, still very confused. "How did you get here?"  
Morgan walked past MJ as well into the Parker's kitchen. She opened the fridge, pulling out the carton of orange juice, taking a sip. "I walked."

Peter blinked tiredly at her and Michelle set down the baseball bat behind the couch against the wall. MJ shrugged and glanced back at Peter.

Morgan set the orange juice carton right back in the fridge and then turned to MJ, "Do you really need to keep a bat right there?"

MJ shrugged, grabbing a blanket from their couch and wrapping herself in it, "I need protection."

Morgan made a face, "You're husbands literally Spiderman."

"Oooh," Michelle grinned and faced Peter, "Husband."

Peter smiled back and wiggled his eyebrows at her. Morgan watched, partly stunned, as Michelle stood up and walked towards Peter. Peter wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her.

Morgan blinked in surprise and covered her face with her hands, shielding her. "Stop! God, I'm literally right here! Are you trying to get me to run out in disgust?"

Peter and Michelle separated. Michelle shot Morgan a shit eating grin and Peter shrugged, very content. "Maybe."

Morgan rolled her eyes and plopped herself down on their couch, "I'm here to help you guys unpack."

MJ and Peter shot each other looks before Michelle cleared her throat, "Morg, we've already unpacked most things-"

"-Anything. I'll unpack anything." Morgan insisted, a slightly desperate look in her eyes.

MJ sighed and then untangled herself from Peter's arms, "Okay," she motioned to some boxes in the corner of their bare living room. "There's some pictures and kitchen utensils in there." She shot Peter a look, "But- it is 5 am and I'm going back to bed." MJ then walked down the hall to her and Peter's bedroom and shut it behind her.

Morgan sighed and grabbed one of the boxes, bringing it to the couch. She then started to go through it, dusting things off and putting it into piles.

Peter stood there, gazing at Morgans troubled face for a few moments, before he sighed and sat down next to morgan. Morgan glanced at him for a moment and then immersed herself back in her job.

"It's April 26." Peter spoke up, gazing at Morgan with caring eyes.

"Yep," Morgan muttered, gazing down at the box.

Peter pursed his lips, "How'd you sneak out of the apartment? With Friday on?"

Morgan stopped and looked up at Peter, a little smugly. "I disabled him."

Peter blinked down at her, "Do you know how to turn him back on?"

Morgan shrugged, "Not really."

"Do you realize now I have to go turn him back on?"

Morgan grinned, "That sounds like a personal problem."

Peter rolled his eyes and leaned back in the couch, continuing to watch Morgan. "You should really be with your mom, Morg."

Morgan froze and set down the picture she was currently dusting. She turned to face Peter, desperation in her voice. "Just, please, let me stay here for a few hours. And then I'll go back. It's just…"

Peter watched her and his gaze softened.

"It's suffocating." She sighed and picked the picture up again, continuing to dust it. "I'll go back I… I just need some time, okay?"

The two maintained eye contact for a few seconds, desperate eyes meeting caring ones, and then Peter sighed. "Okay." He stood up and walked towards the kitchen, "Just tell me what kind of pancakes you want because I promised MJ pancakes last night."

Morgan's face broke out into a soft smile. "Chocolate chip please."

. . . . .

Peter and MJ forced her to go back home around 5 hours later.

Morgan wasn't sure if it was because they actually wanted her to spend time with her mom, or if they just wanted to have sex (considering their constant heart eyes), but she left anyway. Peter promised they'd be at dinner that night and they could play 'just dance' afterward.

So Morgan left, walked back to her and her mother's apartment, which honestly wasn't very far away, probably a 15 minute walk. She stood in front of her apartment complexes doors, and then spun around and walked in the other direction.

She spent the next three hours in a random park, walking around the paths and just staring at the sky. As she walked around the city, she saw bouquets of flowers and pictures of her father in memoriam. She just kept on walking.

Around two p.m. she finally made her way up to her apartment. She opened the door quietly and slid in her apartment, listening for her mother. She walked through the apartment until she walked into the living room.

There her mom was pacing back and forth, on the phone. She hadn't seen Morgan yet.

"No, no, Peter. She still isn't here." Pepper was pacing back and forth in front of a window. "I'm about to get my armor out if she doesn't come back in 30 minutes." Pepper was listening to something Peter was saying on the other side of the phone when she spotted Morgan standing in the doorway. "I'll call you back, she just showed up."

Pepper quickly put her phone down and crossed her arms at Morgan. Morgan just stood there, staring at her mom, not knowing what to say.

Pepper sighed, her eyes and temper cooling down. Worry was still evident on her face and she sat down on the couch and motioned to the spot next to her. "Sit."

Morgan froze for a second and then compiled, sitting next to her mom on the couch. The two were silent for a few moments. Pepper ran a hand over her face before she turned and fully faced her daughter. "What's wrong?"  
Morgan stared back at her mom and furrowed her brows, "What do you mean what's wrong?" What's wrong is that my dad is dead. Your husband is dead. What do you mean what's wrong?

Pepper noticed the change in her tone and sighed, her eyes softening. "Morgan."

Morgan broke off the eye contact and stared down at her lap. She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't going to cry.

She felt her mom pull her into a tight, comforting embrace. Morgan fell into her mothers comfort and sighed. Pepper kissed the top of her head. "You're always going to me my little girl. Never do that again? You hear me?" She made forceful eye contact with Morgan. "Never do that again."

Morgan nodded, "Okay. I'm sorry."

Pepper sighed and nodded.

"I'm just…" Morgan furrowed her brows, "I'm mad. I'm mad that he's gone. It's not fair."

Pepper rubbed her daughter's hand comfortingly.

"I love him," Morgan whispered, her throat closing with emotion, "But I'm so mad."

Pepper stared at her daughter, a pensive look on her face. A few silent moments passed before she cleared her throat and spoke up. "I've learned a lot of thing throughout my life. I know a lot of things. I know how to handle a company, I know how to handle a press conference, but the thing I probably know the most about was your father." Morgan looked up at her mother's face. Pepper had a far off look on her face, "I knew every sparkle in his eyes, every sag in his shoulder, I knew the sound of his breathing, I knew that he could never ignore something that he could make right. He always fixed everything, no matter what. And consequently, I knew that one day I would lose him, fighting to save a world that never deserved him." Her mother was silent for a few moments. "During the five years after the decimation, I felt selfish, but I didn't care. Tony got the life he always wanted. We got married, we had you," she looked down at her daughter, "the most amazing thing that ever happened to us was you. He loved you so much." Pepper's throat constricted and she cleared it. "After- After your father won the war, the infinity stones really hurt him." Her voice broke. "But when I was watching him fade away, I couldn't find any smidge of anger in me that he chose the world. Because if he didn't I wouldn't have loved him any other way." Her teary eyes meet her daughters sparkling ones. "I told him we'd be okay. And I told him he could rest." Pepper gulped, "After, I was mad. But, I was proud. And I understood why he did it. But I knew we would be okay. And some days are hard. Really really hard. But we're going to be okay."

"Why?" Morgan asked, her voice coming out broken, "Why did he do it? He picked the world over his family."

Pepper wiped a tear off of her daughters face, her face housing a soft smile. "One day, you'll understand. I promise."

Morgan wants to understand. She wants to connect with her father.

Morgan is 13 when she sneaks into the lab by herself and tries on her mother's rescue armor. She likes it. Really, really, really likes it.

* * *

Morgan is 14 when alien's try to invade again. She was 14 when she and Peter had their first fight.

Peter was the first the respond, sending out a signal for any available Avengers to come help. They all responded, Bucky, Sam, Wanda, Rhodey, Clint. Bruce was on the comms, ready to help. Everyone responded to the call, coming together against the aliens.

Morgan watched the fight from the windows of Stark tower, watching in apprehension. She watched as slowly more and more avengers joined the fight with Peter. Her mother was stuck in another building across town in a business meeting with Happy. So she was all alone in the tower.

Morgan watched the whole thing, tapping her foot against the ground. She watched as more and more aliens appeared and appeared. She bit her lip and glanced at the lab door, where the Iron Man suits were located.

She had tried them on before. Flew around a little inside. But that was it.

Morgan narrowed her eyes and walked in the lab, staring at her mother's rescue armor.

Fuck it.

Morgan stepped in the armor, flying off, almost instinctively, like it was in her genes.

It was pretty fucking awesome.

She felt so alive, so free, so powerful. Blasting through the air. She got it. What kind of person wouldn't like this?

Once she got the hang of flying, she decided to get down closer to the battle scene. And that was when problems started to arise.

She had some problems with her blasters being a little off. She accidentally hit a few windows, shattering them. Morgan cringed internally.

Clint was the first to notice, of course. Shield agent.

"Guys, who is that?" She could hear him over the comms. FRIDAY had pinged her in automatically.

There was silence over the comms before Rhodey spoke up, a little breathlessly. "Pepper?"

"Pepper's in a meeting." Peter spoke up. Morgan could hear the suspicion in his voice as she continued to blast at aliens, adrenaline pumping through her veins. After a few moments, Peter spoke up, "Morgan?"

Morgan continued to blast at Aliens, grinning to herself, "Hi Petey."

There was silence over the comms, and then a burst of disapproval from almost every member, except Wanda who listened to the commotion in silence.

"Kid, you gotta get out of here."

"Are you even trained?"

"Morgan, what the hell."

Morgan just rolled her eyes and continued to fly through the air, becoming more efficient and precise in her blasting skills. She could see Peter on the ground under her as he webbed Aliens up, kicking them in the heads, rendering them useless.

"Morgan, seriously," Peter warned, his voice hard and steely, a tone she never heard his use before, "Get out of here. We have it under control."

"Aww, come on." Morgan whined, grinning, "this is fun."

And then a second later, she crashed into a building, debris falling on her.

Morgan winced. FRIDAY warning her of contusions. "Oops."

It took her awhile to climb her way out of the debris, still not very fluent in the suit. By the time she was climbing her way out, many of the aliens were retreating.

She watched as Peter grabbed one by the neck, bringing it close to his face. Spider Man's eye lenses narrowed, menacing. "Tell your friends or whoever the fuck else is up there that earth is protected!" he spat, "If you ever come here again, we'll rip you limb to limb until there is nothing left of you except for blood and carnage and the knowledge that you will never win. We've only lost once, you can be damn sure we avenged it, and we won't lose again." He then let go off the alien and everyone watched it run back to their ship.

Sure, the fight was significant, but after Infinity War, any sort of invasion felt like a joke. They won with no deaths and only scrapes and bruises. They all watched the aliens retreat back into their wormhole, breathing heavily from the battle.

Everyone celebrated over the comms, talking about getting drinks. Except Peter. He was pissed.

Morgan was struggling getting the last pieces of concrete off of her when Peter walked over, pulling them off of her effortlessly.

She stared at him through the iron man suit. She could tell, even through his mask, that he was pissed. Spider Man's eye lenses narrowed and then Morgan watched him web up to the top of a building, swinging around for a few seconds.

Morgan got the memo.

Less than five minutes later Morgan landed on the sam rooftop Peter was sitting on, his legs dangling off the side.

She knew he was pissed, but he was probably just being over dramatic.

"Man, that was awesome." Morgan laughed, the faceplate of the armor going back, revealing her face, "Have you ever been in one of these? Damn that is an adrenaline rush!"

Peter didn't even acknowledge her. He just continued to sit.

Morgan scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You can't be that mad at me. No one got hurt! I helped!"

She heard Peter scoff, exasperation in his voice. He stood up and turned to face her. He tore his mask off.

Morgan could instantly tell he genuinely pissed, not just being over dramatic.

Peter's eyes were dark and blazing. He was biting his lip in anger, clenching his fists. "People could have! Morgan, you don't know how to use that thing!"

Morgan rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, starting to get angry herself. "Nothing happened!"  
"You can't sneak around my back with this type of stuff!" Peter seethed, narrowing his eyes. "I don't think you understand-"

"Oh, what, I'm too immature?"

"Yes!" Peter insisted, "You are!"

Morgan scoffed, crossing her arms, "You started when you were 14!"  
"Exactly!" Peter hissed. "I know! You think you know everything, you think you're invincible and nothing can go wrong but it can!"

"But-"

"This is where you zip it-"

"You're not my dad!" Morgan hissed, narrowing her eyes, "Nothing went wrong."  
Peter just stared at her, anger heating up his veins. His eyes darkened and he was clenching his fists in anger. Morgan watched in shock as Peter forcefully put his mask back on. He spoke up, his voice cold. "You should go home, Pepper is probably worried sick." He shot her one last look and then turned, jumped off the building, webbing himself away.

Morgan stood there, an empty feeling forming in her chest. "Shit."

. . . . .

After returning the suit, and then hearing a mouthful from Rhodey and her mother, she finally mustered up enough courage a few hours later, appearing at Peter and MJ's apartment. She knocked three times, and then stood there silently.

Michelle opened up the apartment a few seconds later.

Morgan's eyes widened as she took in Michelle's figure. Her hair was in a typical MJ fashion, a messy bun, but her eyes were sunken in. She looked tired and sickly.

"Oh my god, what the hell happened to you?"

MJ just blinked at Morgan tiredly. "It's been a few rough weeks." She opened up the apartment door wider, letting Morgan in. "I'm going for a walk. He's in our bedroom." And then Michelle shut the door behind her.

Morgan gulped, freezing for a few moments, just standing in Peter and MJ's living room. She took a deep breath and then proceeded to walk down the hallway, hesitantly opening up the door to Peter's bedroom.

He was in there, sitting on the bed, cleaning some of his scrapes with alcohol. His eyes met hers and he set down the medical supplies and turned to face her.

"Can I come in?" Morgan asked hesitantly.

Peter sighed, "Yes."

Morgan's lips quirked up slightly, slowly sitting on the bed next to him.

Peter turned his head and glanced at her, his eyes heavy. "I know I'm not your dad."

Morgan spoke up quickly, "I didn't mean-"

Peter held up a finger, his eyes slightly desperate, "Just let me talk."  
Morgan shut her mouth and watched him, complying with his wishes.

Peter sighed, his gaze heavy. "I know I'm not your dad. But I…" Peter was silent for a moment, "I love you Morgan, you're part of my family and one of the most important people in my life." He turned to face her, making eye contact. "I promised your dad I would protect you. And seeing you there, in battle, a dangerous place ... you shouldn't have been there." Peter sighed, "If anything would have happened to you, that's on me. So saying I was mad was an understatement."

Morgan frowned, "I'm sorry."

"I know."

"No," Morgan, insisted, "I'm really sorry. That was stupid of me. And I shouldnt of done that without asking. You guys had it handled."

Peter sighed with relief at her apology, reassured that she knew what she did wrong. After a few moments he broke the silence, "God, I sound like Tony."  
Morgan blinked, "What?"  
"When I was your age," Peter shot her a look, "I was tracking this vulture guy who was selling and producing dangerous weapons and, long story short, I almost blew up a ferry, if it wasn't for your dad." Peter looked sheepish while caught up in the memory. "He chewed me out. And I felt really bad. I thought I was doing everything right. I was so immature." He turned to face Morgan, "But you learn. And grow."

Morgan's lips quirked up slightly, "I've never heard that story."

"Yeah," Peter rolled his eyes, "Because it was embarrassing." He looked down at her again, meeting her eyes, "But if you're going to do this, you need some training. Rhodey will help you with the suit. And Clint and I can train you with some actual fighting skills. Because sometimes you're not always going to have the suit."

Morgan's eyes widened a bit, "Wait, you're going to let me do this?"

Peter pursed his lip and shrugged, gazing out the window. "I can't stop you. All I can do is prepare you."  
"Soo," Morgan met his eyes, smiling slightly, "We're good. You're not going to disown me?"

Peter shook his head, smiling sadly at her, "Naw. I get it."

Morgan grinned, "Great. Great. I've never seen you that mad before." She watched Peter smile slightly back at her.

But something was still off.

Morgan narrowed her eyes at Peter, who was staring out the window with an unreadable, pensive, expression on his face.

Morgan cleared her throat, "Why the long face, dude?"  
Peter chewed the inside of his lip and Morgan could see the conflict in his eyes. He turned to face her, "It's been a … weird couple of weeks."  
"I've barely seen you," Morgan replied, narrowing her eyes in suspicious, "That's what MJ said too, is she like sick or something? Cause she looked bad."

"Yeah uh," something sparkled in Peter's eyes but it only lasted a second before it disappeared again. "Something happened."

Morgan stared at him curiously, "What?"

Peter chewed on his lip and was silent for a moment, and then he finally spoke up. "Well-"

"Oh god," Morgan breathed, "is she sick? Is something actually wrong?"

"No, no, no," Peter insisted, shaking his head. He had a nervous look on his face and made eye contact with Morgan, "You can't tell anyone. No one knows. Only me and Michelle know."  
Morgan blinked and nodded, confused.

Peter leaned over to his bedside table, opened a drawer, and pulled out a small picture he handed it to Morgan. Morgan focused her eyes on it, realizing it was a black and white sonogram photo.

"Holy shit," Morgan breathed. She grinned and looked up at Peter, "MJ's pregnant?"  
Peter smiled back at her, nodding.

Morgan started to laugh, staring back down at the sonogram photo in disbelief. "Holy shit." She looked back up at Peter, "This is a good thing!"  
"Yes," Peter chuckled, "it is a good thing." He stared down at the sonogram picture Morgan was holding and smiled automatically. His smile faded though, "She's been having some really bad morning sickness. We've barely been able to leave the house."

"It's cause it's a spider baby."

"Oh god," Peter rolled his eyes, "Do not tell her that."

Morgan's eyes brightened up as she handed the picture back to Peter, "This is a good thing!" She observed Peter's nervous, conflicted eyes and her smiled faltered slightly. "What's wrong?"  
Peter shrugged, "Part of the reason I was so mad was I've just been nervous." Peter sighed, "It's just scary. I have a dangerous job and…" he looked at Morgan, insecurity in his eyes, "What if i'm not a good dad?"

Morgan scoffed, "Don't be stupid. You're like, one of the best people I know." She smiled at Peter, "That kid is lucky to have you as a parent. You and MJ."

Peter almost cried.

The two were sitting in the kitchen, Peter making popcorn, one of the only things MJ could stomach, when the door opened and MJ stepped in.

Almost instantly Morgan engulfed MJ in a hug. MJ's eyes widened and glanced at Peter, who stared sheepishly back at her scratching the back of his neck. He mouthed the words, "sorry."

"I'm so happy for you!" Morgan cried.

Michelle stepped back and opened her mouth to reply, before her hand shot to her mouth and she ran past Morgan. MJ ran to the sink in the kitchen and began to throw up. Peter stood next to her, rubbing her back.

"Oops," Morgan chuckled nervously, "Sorry."

* * *

Morgan is 15 when April 26th got a new meaning.

Her mother woke her up that morning, basically giving her a heart attack. Pepper ran in her room, shaking her daughter awake, wayy too early than Morgan ever would wake up voluntarily.

She could barely even put on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt before her and Pepper hurried out of the apartment.

They arrived at the hospital in record time, partly because they scared Happy to death.

The must have looked crazy, running through the hospital, trying to find the right room. Eventually May found them and showed them where to go, making sure they didn't scare anymore nurses than they already had.

The second May opened the door, Morgan lost her breath in aww.

MJ was laying in the hospital bed. Her face and eyes were tired with deep fatigue, which made sense since she literally pushed a baby out of her body, but she had a dopey smile on her face, her eyes sparkling. She was staring lovingly at Peter, who was sitting next to her hospital bed, holding a small bundle close to his chest wrapped in a pale pink blanket.

If Morgan thought Peter and MJ's wedding was the happiest she ever saw the two, this moment trumped it, by a ton.

Peter was staring down at his daughter with such love and adoration in his eyes it almost made Morgan cry right there and then.

Both Peter and MJ looked up once Morgan and Pepper came into the room. Pepper walked towards the two quickly, staring down at the baby in aww.

Morgan crept towards the two slowly, staring at the bundle in Peter's arms. Peter approached her with the newborn, lowering the baby so Morgan could get a better look.

Morgan smiled softly in aww, her eyes sparkling, as she caressed the baby's cheek.

"Meet May Antonia Parker-Jones," Peter spoke up, his smile never leaving his face.

The newborn had dark brown, curly hair like MJ. Her eyes were light brown-hazel like Peter's. She was a perfect mix of her two parents.

Morgan looked up at Peter and then Michelle, both housing a dopey, love ridden smile. "Damn," she sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, "You two made a pretty perfect baby."

. . . .

It had been 10 years since the death of her father, the sadness being slightly muffled by the arrival of the new Parker. The week after though, the grief and sadness started to set in.

It came in quick cries for Morgan. The media and city held a nice ceremony for Tony Stark, in memoriam for his sacrifice. It reflected on the last 10 years, the rebuilding of society and the reunification of families.

Morgan found herself spending a lot of time at the Parkers. Partly to help with their new little miracle, even though the sound of a crying newborn baby after a while will make anyone go insane, but she went mostly to distract herself.

"You know you can go home right?"

Morgan shrugged, glancing to Peter in the living room who holding a sleeping newborn. He had a tired look on his face, dark bags underneath them.

Morgan pursed her lips, a smug look in her eyes. "Why would I want to leave and miss all of that. You look so good."

Peter narrowed his eyes at her and then closed them, trying to take advantage of the silence and to rest while his baby was fast asleep.

Morgan smirked and focused back down on the boiling pot of pasta on the stovetop. She drained the water and then mixed in the marinara sauce. Pasta was the only thing she knew how to cook, and even then, she it was rare if she didn't over or under cook the pasta.

MJ walked into the room, her hair wet from a shower. Morgan glanced at her and handed her a plate which MJ took thankfully. She looked tired but refreshed from her shower.

Morgan made another plate and walked up to Peter, nudging his leg with her foot, waking him up.

Peter opened his eyes, blinking to focus them. Morgan smirked and set the plate of pasta on the coffee table. She carefully grabbed May from Peter's arms and sat down on the couch, staring down at the sleeping baby, feeling a sense of calmness come over her.

Peter grabbed the bowl of pasta and sat down next to his wife on their dining table. He kissed her cheek sweetly and sat down. MJ smiled at her husband tiredly.

The three of them all sat in the room in silence, MJ and Peter eating drowsily while Morgan just stared down at the newborn in peace.

After probably 30 minutes of silence, MJ finally spoke up, whispering, "Do you want to take a shower?"  
Peter looked up from his pasta. He smiled tiredly, "No it's okay, em, you should probably sleep."

MJ shook her head, "No-"

"It's only been 5 days," Peter insisted, "we left the hospital 3 days ago, you need to rest, em."

Michelle pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at Peter. Peter cocked his brow at her challengingly.

After a few moments MJ sighed, "You're too kind for your own good." She stood up and set her dirty bowl in the sink and then turned back towards Peter, "You better wake me up in 30 so you can take a shower." MJ then turned towards Morgan, "You better make sure he does that."

Peter rolled his eyes fondly and Morgan glanced from MJ to Peter, smirking.

MJ yawned, "I'm just gonna-" she yawned again, her eyelids drooping, "Yeah." She turned around and opened the door to her bedroom and closed it behind her, leaving Morgan and Peter in fatigued silence.

Morgan continused to stare down at the baby's face, ignoring the looks from Peter. She was faintly aware of Peter standing up and going to the sink, beginning to clean the dishes.

A few seconds later, Morgan felt the newborn start to stir awake in her arms and grumble with discontent. Morgan shifted the baby in her arms, shushing her quietly. A few seconds later May broke out into a upset cry, her eyes and tiny fists clenched.

Morgan looked up at Peter desperately and he grinned tiredly at her, walking towards the bewildered teenager and newborn baby. Peter gently scooped May out of Morgan's arms, shushing her quietly in her ear, whispering sweet nothingness. He sat down on the couch next to Morgan, cradling his daughter close in his embrace.

May quieted down, her eyes and fists unclenching, lulled and relaxed by her father's embrace and comfort.

Peter peered down at his daughter's face and smiled softly, his eyes filled with love. He wiped the tears off of her cheek softly and then looked back up at Morgan.

Morgan watched the exchange with a thoughtful look in her eyes. She didn't even realize her eyes were tearing up until Peter looked back up at her, concern in his eyes.

Morgan scoffed, looking away from him quickly and wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. "It's so stupid," Morgan rasped, crossing her arms over her chest, "It was so long ago and I don't understand why I'm still not over it yet."

Peter stared back at Morgan with thoughtful eyes. He sighed and leaned back on the couch, rubbing his daughters back. "When my Uncle Ben died, I didn't feel normal for years."

Morgan looked up at Peter, meeting his eyes. She gulped and turned to face him, her eyes pleading him to continue.

Peter looked back down at his daughter's relaxed face, "I couldn't sleep, eat, I could barely cry. I felt so guilty and alone. May had to force me to do everything until I realized that Ben would have wanted more and .. I pushed through it. He's the one that inspired me to become Spiderman." Peter sighed, "It took me years to even feel okay with his death. And even then I didn't feel 100% back. I think, even now, I'm still not completely over his death. There's always going to be apart of me that will think about the what if's … And it's the same with your dad."

Morgan gulped and glanced at Peter, listening to him talk silently.

Peter met her eyes "Every year since his death I would always miss school the week of his death. I didn't understand why every year would get so sad, even when I accepted his death, but it's just a part of grief. The pain of his death never went away, there was always an ache somewhere."

Morgan shifted and turned to face Peter, "How did you? Accept it?"

Peter shrugged, "After awhile I just realized even if he's not here, he is. He's here through my memories, pictures, through May and even through some parts of myself." Peter smiled softly, "At my dad's funeral, he was the one that helped me get through it. He told me my dad would always be there with me, his soul would, and when Ben died his words were what got me through it."

Morgan peered up at the sky. "Daddy's not coming back. I miss him."

Peter stared down at Morgan, gently wiping some of the stray hairs off of her face. "No. He's not, physically. But he's always here."

Morgan frowned and looked up at Peter, "What do you mean?"

Peter looked up at the sky and pointed, "He's up there. Staring down at you. He may not physically be here. But he's always up there watching."

Morgan stared up at the stars and smiled slightly, comforted by Peter's words. Her daddy may not be here, but he'll always be watching. Hey eyes started to droop with fatigue, "I love you, Daddy, 3000."

Morgan remembered the memory flashing through her eyes and she blinked at Peter. "You told me that, at my dad's funeral."

Peter's eyes sparkled, "Yeah, I did."

Morgan's eyes fell to the newborn in Peter's arms. She met Peter's thoughtful and caring gaze again, "Thank you for helping me, all these years."

Peter grinned at her, "You helped me. It was the least I could do."

Morgan scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Stop it."

"You did!" Peter insisted, his eyes glistening, "After your dad died I felt exactly like I did with Ben. I was mad, I was sad. It was hard but I knew I had to move on. And one of the reasons I was able to move on was because of you." Morgan watched Peter and Peter grabbed her hand comfortingly, "You've helped me alot. You looked at me like I was whole again. You remind me so much of Tony and when you were a little girl, just the thought of you helped me move on. You were so hopeful."

Morgan smiled sadly at Peter, her heart aching with sorrow and love. She rasped out, her throat closing with emotion, "You're so mushy."

Peter scoffed, his eyes glistening. "Shut up."

* * *

When Morgan was 16 she started to train in the Iron Man suit.

Rhodey and her would spin around in the air for hours, teaching Morgan all the knick and knacks of the suit. They worked a lot in target practice, perfecting all of her skills.

She spent countless days in the lab with Peter, working on suit updates, repairing, laughing.

Clint and Peter taught her how to fight without the suit. How to punch, the basics of martial arts, Clint taught her how to shoot a gun.

She would wake up, go to school, go to training, do homework, sleep, and repeat. And she loved it. Her heart was so full. Even though she would go to bed every night with bruises and sore muscles, she wouldn't of had it any other way.

When Morgan was 17, Peter finally allowed her to start going on actual small missions. Nothing out of the country or too dangerous.

It wasn't until Morgan was 17 until she understood.

She had been training for months, close to a year. Her mother wasn't too happy about it, but she understood. Her father's mechanic gene was in her blood, the hero life in her genetics.

The fight took place in New York where a new branch of HYDRA had popped up.

She was going into it with Peter, someone who had over ten years of experience. She trusted him and he trusted her.

The mission was to infiltrate the building, get some intel, and get out. Neither of them were supposed to don their armour and engage, but the mission didn't go as planned.

Peter went in first, making sure the floors were clear. It only took a few minutes before the door she was standing next to eventually swung open and Peter peeked his head out. He beckoned to her and she followed him, the two observing their surroundings with a watchful eyes.

They managed to get all the way to their goal before anything happened. Morgan tapped her arc reactor, the iron man armor flowing into it. Her fingers flew over the keyboard while Peter kept watch, on alert.

Three gunshots sounded out, hitting the bulletproof door. Morgan's hands flew over the keyboard as she downloaded the necessary files.

"Morgan, they're gonna get in soon," Peter said.

"Wait," she murmured. She tapped the arc reactor twice and kept typing. The armor spread over her body, encasing her completely.

A moment later, just after the helmet encased her head, the door burst open. She raised her hand and fired off a few blasts.

"Get behind me!" she shouted. Peter obliged, fully knowledgeable that spandex wasn't bulletproof. The guards shot at her but none of the bullets penetrated. Peter stood and started firing off different webs to draw the guards attention, flicking the guns out of their hands successfully.

"It's Iron Man!" one of the guards shouted.

Morgan faltered, her mind spinning for a moment when the name hit her ears. She shook her head, drawing her focus back to the task at hand.

Peter leaped over the desk to engage in hand-to-hand with the guards. Morgan swiftly turned and tapped on the keyboard again, finishing her job.

"We just have to take what we can get," Peter called out to Morgan. She could see him motioning for her to get on with it from the corner of her eyes. She took the flash drive out and it melded in seamlessly with the rest of her armor. She whirled, fired at one of the windows to shatter it, and turned back to Peter.

He had his back to one of the guards, completely unaware of the man creeping up behind him.

Before she could even render what she was doing, Morgan lunged forwards. She wrapped her arms around Peter and took the spray of bullets to her back.

After quickly blasting them out of the building, Morgan quickly realized what she had done.

She had been prepared to die to save someone she loved.

She flew them to the Stark Tower silently, her mind whirling. She ran past Peter, ignoring his concerned questions and the calls to debrief. Instead, she went right up to the floor she knew her mother was working on.

Morgan busted into her mother's office and Pepper looked up at her in surprise.

"I understand," Morgan said, her breath hitching. She didn't realize she was crying.

Her mother stood up, realization dawning on her face. She closed her laptop screen and stood up. Morgan stepped forward and wrapped her in a tight hug. All she could get out of her mouth was silent cries for a few moments.

When she could speak, Morgan spoke up, whispering, "I understand why dad did it. I understand why he left."

Her mother gently held her and sat them down on the couch in the corner of her office. "I told you it'd make sense," Pepper replied softly.

Morgan looked up from the ground, to the picture her mother had placed on her desk. It was of her and her mother on their wedding day.

Maybe it was just her imagination but she could've sworn she felt a warm sensation from head to toe. It wasn't audible but she could feel it in her bones. She knew her father was there in that moment. With her and her mom.

She never understood why he picked the world over her, not until she donned the suit, not until she saved her first civilian, until she was ready to sacrifice her life for someone she loved.

She wasn't picking the world over her family. She was picking her family over herself.

She never felt closer to her father than in that moment.

* * *

When Morgan was 18 she graduated high school, even though she probably could have done it years earlier. It felt good to walk with her classmates and friends. To feel normal.

Morgan smiled out in the crowd after accepting her diploma, spotting her mother, Rhodey, Happy, and way in the back Peter, Michelle, and little May. May was sitting on her father's shoulder clapping her hands happily. Peter and MJ's eyes were filled with pride.

Afterwards, they stopped at Burger King to get cheeseburgers and drove up to lakehouse. Morgan hadn't been there in months, feeling a wave of calmness coming over her when she stepped out of the car and into her old home. The fresh air and the familiar scene of the lake and forest stilled her.

She spotted the treehouse she remembered building with her father, the wooden dock, the fields she played and ran in every afternoon with her parents.

Morgan grinned as she leaned down and picked up three year old May. She held May close to her chest, walking around the lake house property as everyone else went inside. The sun was setting and the moon and stars were beginning to show.

She watched May's eyes fixate on the lake and the wilderness around her. May pointed out at the treehouse.

"Treehouse?" Morgan asked, smiling.

May nodded excitedly, giggling. "Yes!"  
Morgan carried her to the treehouse, setting her down on it. May stood up instantly, walking around inside, outside, climbing partly on the tree, almost giving Morgan a heart attack.

"Come up!" May giggled at Morgan excitedly, "Come up!"

"I don't think I can fit…" Morgan replied, hesitant.

"Yes!" May insisted, her chubby hands grabbing at Morgan. "Come up!"  
So that's how Morgan found herself, cramped inside her old rickety tree house, as May gathered around paints and costumes and decided to play dress up.

She knew she probably looked ridiculous, with a princess crown, a pink boa, and purple paint all over her face, but Morgan couldn't wipe the smile off of her face watching little May have so much fun at the lakehouse. It reminded her of her childhood and it made her happy, that May enjoyed the house as much as Morgan once did. She was happy it continued to bring joy and families together.

. . . . .

Later that night when everyone had retreated back to their rooms, ready to go to bed, Morgan sneaked down into the garage like she would when she was younger. The garage used to be her favorite place.

Morgan's eyes shifted across the garage, a layer of dust covering everything from the lack the use. She walked down the creaky stairs she used to sit on and made her away to her father's work table. She opened up a few of the cabinet doors, running her fingers over the materials and her father's notes. She picked up an old arc reactor, running her hands over it, deep in thought.

"Hey Morguna."

Morgan shrieked and the old arc reactor clattered to the ground. She gulped as she turned to face the sound of the voice, her heart stopping. All of a sudden she was staring into her dad's eyes, into her dad's face. Staring at her dad. And he was staring back at her.

Her father's old iron man helmet was projecting a hologram of him, just like the one from when she was younger.

Morgan picked up the arc reactor quickly and set it back down, approaching her father's hologram slowly.

Her dad had a soft smile on his face, "Well, I guess you're not so little anymore, are you? Little Miss." He scratched the back of his neck and chuckled, crinkles on both side of his mouth.

Morgan's throat thickened with emotion and she sat on one of her father's lab stools, staring at his hologram, unable to look away.

"18? Damn." Her father laughed, leaning towards her in his hologram chair. "I mean, just like the other ones, I'm hoping to be there. I hope this video never has to see the light of day, but, if it is, just know, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, whoever you've become...I'm so proud of you." He laughed as his eyes starting to tear up with emotion. "You got Mom's creativity and practicality, that was evident from the moment you spoke your first words. But I also know you got the best of me. You got the best of both of us. You're going to be unstoppable, Morgan." Her father sat there, pensive for a few moments, a sad smile on his face before he continued. "Even now you're incredible, the smartest five year old I've ever met, so, God, who knows where you'll be in 13 years' time." He smiled, looking directly into her eyes. "I love you 3,000 monkey." Morgan's heart seized up hearing his words, but she continued to watch, breatlessely. "I hope your childhood years have been easy on you. I'm sorry I left, but I know you're not alone. I know you're strong. I know you have people there to support you and love you." Her father look into his hands, wringing them around, and then looked back up, a spark in his eyes. "Don't waste your life. You have a gift, you have a spark. You can be whatever you want to be, and whatever that is, know that I am proud of you. Whatever you aspire to be, do it. I can't wait to see what you do, what you create. I'm so damn proud of you. I love you, Morguna."

Morgan watched numbly as the hologram went out and she stared straight at the wall. She felt a hand on her shoulder and her eyes immediately shot to Peter, who was watching her with a caring look.

Morgan let out a small cry, smiling sadly up at Peter, and she felt Peter wrap his arms around her. She opened her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She made eye contact with Peter and she laughed, wiping at her eyes. "Damn I miss him." She wiped at her eyes again, her red eyes meeting Peter's soft ones.

He smiled sadly at her. "Me too, Morg."

* * *

Morgan's 19 when she finally accepts she'll never get over it. She'll never get over her father's death.

But she knows her father will always be there. In the stars, looking down at all of them.

She saw him in herself. The had the same eyes. She saw him in her mom's smile, her mother's warm embrace, in Uncle Rhodey's smile and gleaming eyes, in Peter's actions and his smirk, in his old lab, in the lake house. He was always there. Even when she was mad at him for leaving, mad at the world, confused. He was there on the days where she would cry and she felt like she couldn't breath. He was always there. He never actually left.

Morgan healed, memories of her father feeling less like a knife and more like a comforting balm. He wasn't really gone. He never would be.

The more and more she dawned the Iron Man suit she understood why. Why he chose the world. Why he went into battle.

She loved her father. And her pride for him was incomprehensible. But days were still hard, and on those days she found solace in the lakehouse, in her mother, but especially in Peter. He seemed to be able to pull her out of her deepest worries, regrets, her worst bad days. Peter definitely passed down his gift to his daughter; Little May brought an endless smile to Morgan's face, brightening up her days.

Morgan missed her father everyday. But not in the way that wore her down in sadness and grief. But in a fond, proud, way. Sometimes she hated him. But she loved him, always.

He lived on. He was never actually gone.

* * *

Morgan is 20 when she received a distress call from Peter in class.

She quickly excused herself, tapped the watch she had on her wrist twice, felt the armor fully encase her body, and flew off to the situation.

Peter informed her of the situation over the phone. There were tips of three suicide bombers with a backpack full of alien rigged bombs targeting a technology expo in downtown manhattan. Close to 100,000 people in attendance. The rest of the avengers were overseas, dealing with tips about HYDRA. Why HYDRA was still around, especially after the Infinity War, Morgan had no idea. Nobody with the right mind did.

Peter had already alerted SHIELD and as she landed on a roof close to the technology expo, Morgan could spot several SHIELD agents lurking around in the shadows.

It happened so fast Morgan could barely keep up.

The first bomb went off on one of the lower floors. Through the chaos of trying to shield and save civilians, holding up and stabilizing the important support beams of the building so it wouldn't collapse, and clearing and setting off the fires and rubble, Morgan lost sight of Peter pretty quickly.

Her and SHIELD were able to clear the entirety of the first floor when she spotted Peter. She quickly shot out of the first floor into the street, trying to spot him clearly.

She watched as Peter swang from building to building beside a man, who FRIDAY quickly informed her was on the the suspected bombers. The man was holding the backpack and Morgan watched as the man readied himself to throw the backpack into the direction of crowded buildings and civilians. She watched as Peter shot out a web, webbing the backpack from the bomber.

It was almost in slow motion.

Then she watched as the backpack full of bombs exploded in the air, and she watched Peter fall.

Morgan, including civilians and SHIELD agents in close radius of the impact fell from the force of the bombs, dust and rubble filling the air.

Morgan was too stunned to move for a few seconds, her ears ringing, FRIDAY talking to her. But she could barely concentrate.

The one thing that brought her out of her trance was the sounds of sirens and cries. Desperate, fear-ridden cries.

Morgan opened her eyes, the air around her filled with dust and rubble, the buildings close to the impact broken and chipped. She quickly stood up, her mind immediately wandering off to Peter.

Morgan could barely think. She could feel the terror and adrenaline pumping through her veins as she cleared the rubble around her, helping trapped civilians get out as well. She was on autopilot. All she could think of was where's Peter?

She found him a few seconds later, a huddle of people surrounding his unconscious body. Morgan could feel herself shaking as she approached them in the iron man armor, her eyes widening once she spotted his beaten body.

All she could really recall were a few SHIELD agents pushing the crowd aside and hoisting Spiderman's body up into an ambulance and then racing off after informing Morgan they were heading to the tower.

All Morgan wanted to do was fly off to the tower and find Peter. Make sure he was alright. Her mind and body were screaming at her to follow the ambulance.

But as she looked around at the rubble and chaos around her, she knew she couldn't.

She thought, what would Peter do?

And as much as she hated it, he would finish the job. He would make sure everyone was safe before himself. Before his own problems.

So that's exactly what she did. She helped catch the remaining suicide bombers. She helped clear the building, make sure everyone was situated, before she flew off to the tower. The only thing she could hear was her heartbeat.

"He survived the Vulture, Thanos, hundreds of buildings being dropped on him, thousands of phycos. Peter will be fine."

She thought if she kept on repeating it, Peter will be fine, Peter will be fine, Peter will be fine, it might come true.

Morgan quickly landed on the balcony of the tower, stepping out of the armor quickly. She didn't hesitate to run down the floors to the medical floor.

Morgan pushed herself through the elevator, her frantic eyes instantly focusing on Bruce Banner and her mother talking to each other in hushed voices, solemn looks on their faces.

Morgan's heart dropped and she instantly walked up to them, urgency in her pace. Her eyes were wide, on fire. "Where is he?"

Bruce and her mother turned to face her, her mother's eyes red. Morgan froze and stared at her Mom and then glanced at Bruce, her voice quivering. "Where is he?"

Bruce sighed, "Morgan-"

"No-," Morgan furrowed her brows in confusion. Her hands started to shake and she glanced at the door behind her mother and Bruce, where Peter probably was. She stared back at Bruce, her heart dropping. "Why aren't you doing anything?"  
"Morgan…"

"No!" Morgan hissed, her hands shaking more, "Why?"

Bruce shot Pepper a look and Pepper grabbed her daughter's hands, her eyes filled with emotion. "Morgan," her voice was soft and solemn, "I think you know why."

Morgan's lips started to quiver and she shook her head. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes tightly, trying to will the tears away. "No," her voice sounded broken, in denial. "No."

Bruce spoke up, his voice calm and somber, "We gave him some meds to make him comfortable. He's not in pain."

Morgan felt her chest become heavier as realization dawned over her. She took in a shaky breath and maneuvered her way past Bruce and her mom, slowly opening the doors of the medical room, praying to herself it wasn't true.

Morgan opened up the door, staring at the scene in front of her in complete shock, in denial. Her throat became thick with emotion, barely keeping herself together as she stepped forward.

Peter was laying in a medical bed, a weak look on his face. He was barely able to keep his eyes open and it looked like it was a struggle for him to breath. The doctors had cleaned the blood off of his face. His eyes looked tired, but calm. Aunt May was sitting next to him, holding his hand, tears in her eyes.

Morgan didn't even realise she had froze until May stood up and grabbed her by her shoulders comfortingly, guiding her towards Peter.

Morgan sat down next to Peter slowly, her eyes never leaving his gaze. Her breath faltered and she felt tears fall down her cheeks.

Peter blinked slowly, fighting to stay awake. His breath was shallow and forced. He gulped and spoke up, his voice quite, "I know what I was doing." Don't blame yourself.

Morgan let out a sob, grasping onto his hand tightly. He always knew what she was thinking.

Morgan felt Peter's grip tighten around her's for a moment, then loosen again. "Take care of little 'Mayday'," Peter breathed, his voice weary. Peter closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again, fighting the darkness. "Okay?"

Morgan nodded, blinking her eyes fast, trying to clear the tears. "Okay. Okay, I promise." Her voice didn't sound half as broken as she felt.

Peter smiled at her weakly. He took in a shaky breath, "You were one of the most amazing, smart, beautiful little girls I have ever met in my life."

Morgan took in a shaky breath, trying to clear her throat. "I love you."

She could see the energy fading Peter's eyes by the second. He blinked again, wanting to say more but unable to. Morgan tightened her grip around his hand again, not wanting to let go.

Morgan heard the door to the medical room open, but she couldn't take her eyes off Peter. She felt someone tighten their grip around her shoulders. Morgan glanced up at May, and then towards the door. MJ was standing in front of the door, staring at the room in front of her, blinking rapidly in shock. May helped Morgan stand up as they watched MJ walk and kneel down next to Peter's bedside.

A look of relief came over Peter's eyes as he spotted MJ. His lips quirked up into a frail smile, his eyes fluttering open with effort.

MJ is barely keeping it together, her hands are shaking. She grabbed Peter's hand and kissed it. MJ blinked, her eyes trained on her husband. "Hey."

Peter struggled to keep his eyes open, to maintain his breathing. "MJ."  
MJ nodded, a tear escaping her eyes. She leaned down and kissed Peter's forehead. "It's okay, Peter."  
A sense of consolation and solace came over Peter's features. His eyes focused on MJ weakly, studying every part of her face. He opened up his mouth, rasping out, "I-" He was unable to finish the sentence, his body becoming more fatigued by the second.

"I know," Michelle whispered, her voice breaking. "I love you too." She tightened her grip around Peter's hand, caressing his knuckles with her thumb.

Peter's eyes filled with calmness and he closed them, a hint of a smile on his face. A few moments later the group watched as his face relaxed and his chest stilled.

Morgan felt a deep ache in her chest and MJ's shoulders starting to shake, setting her forehead against Peter's hand, a sob escaping her lips.

Morgan felt numb and alone. She spun around, running out of the room, past Happy and Pepper, called for her armour, and flew off to her apartment.

Morgan stepped out of her armor, and stormed into her apartment, hot tears running down her face. Her eyes spotted a picture frame set on the fireplace. Her hands were shaking, angry grief-stricken sobs wracking her body as she grabbed the picture of Peter and Tony, throwing it at the wall. She watched the glass shatter upon impact, the photo falling to the floor along with Morgan. Morgan covered her face in her hands, guttural, anguish pained sobs wracking her.

* * *

Morgan remembered the days after Peter's death. She shut herself in her room, slightly aware of how selfish she was being, but didn't really care. She couldn't believe it. That Peter was gone.

She watched the life fade from his eyes. She watched him die. And there was nothing she could do about it.

The city held a huge memorial service. Spider Man's identity revealed to be 32 year old Peter Parker, a native from Queens. Morgan watched the service on the TV, still unable to bring herself out of bed.

"Peter saved thousands of lives around the world," MJ spoke, barely able to look up from her hands in front of the crowd, "My husband was an extraordinary person. Peter didn't ask for his powers, but he chose to be Spiderman. He loved this city unconditionally."

MJ spoke in front of a crowd of hundreds of thousands of thankful civilians gathering to thank and celebrate Peter's life. They thanked him for the over 18 years of service he did for the city, not once taking advantage of the fame or the superhero stardom.

Morgan is 20 when she attends Peter Parker's funeral.

They hold it a week after his death, at the lakehouse. It's the place they spent their summer nights, laughing on the water, laying on the roof of the house, painting in the valley.

Morgan was barely able to keep it together during the ceremony, when everyone spoke up about Peter's life. All the avengers were there.

Morgan was sitting by the lake, on the dirt, staring out at the sunset, the moon starting to shine. The funeral had ended hours ago, everyone retreating inside to share stories, spend time, support each other, and prepare dinner. Her mother had sat next to her for a few hours, in silence, offering her support, but had gone back inside to help cook. Leaving Morgan alone for the most part.

Memories flashed over her eyes of her at the lakehouse with Peter. A sense of dejavu came over her from her dad's funeral and Morgan's eyes darkened, continuing to stare out at the sky. Her heart ached.

Morgan could hear the door to the lake house creak open and closed, and then footsteps start to approach her. Morgan felt a presence walk up next to her, and then heard someone sit next to her on the ground.

Morgan glanced in the MJ's direction, meeting her gaze. MJ's eyes were dark and grief stricken, yet strong at the same time, reminding Morgan of her own mother years ago.

MJ observed Morgan's face, cocking her head. "He wouldn't want you to close yourself off like this."

Morgan looked away from MJ and down at her hands. "I know."

MJ sighed and looked out at the lake, her eyes taking in the peaceful waves of the water. "It's hard. But we're going to be okay. And we're going to move on. Like Peter would want us to do so." MJ turned her head in the direction of Morgan, "But you already know this."  
MJ let out a shaky sigh and met MJ's solemn eyes. Memories of Peter comforting her endlessly throughout the years flashed in her mind, the comfort he provided her and the lessons he taught her that she remembered to this day. The lifelong advice he gave her.

"I just," Morgan's voice faltered. "I can't believe he's gone."

Morgan met MJ's gaze. MJ gulped, trying to clear the emotion in her throat and reached down to pull out a photo from the pocket in her pants. Morgan's eyes softened at the sight of the photo MJ pulled out. It was a sonogram photo.

MJ breathed out a shaky breath, emotion in her voice. "He's not gone." She looked up at Morgan, observing her face. Morgan was staring at the sonogram photo in silence, an unreadable expression on her face. "We were going to tell you," MJ spoke up, "We found out it's a boy and Peter was planning this whole surprise thing." MJ's lips quirked up. She took in a shaky breath and then repeated, "He's not gone."

Morgan met MJ's eyes, her eyes gleaming. "Thank you, MJ."

MJ smiled softly, grabbing Morgan's hand, tightening her grip around it. She stood up, wiping the dirt off of her clothes. "Dinner's prepared inside. Whenever you're ready."

Morgan sent MJ another thankful look before re-focusing her gaze on the disappearing sunset, the stars starting to brighten.

"Aunty?"

Morgan blinked, not even realizing she spaced out. She turned her face, her eyes focusing on little May who was shuffling on her feet next to Morgan's sitting form.

"Hey," Morgan breathed softly. She extended her arm out to the five year old. May looked at her hesitantly, until she leaned into Morgan's touch, sitting next to her. Morgan wrapped her arm around the young girl.

Morgan peered down at Mayday's face. May's eyes were empty and lost, staring out at the lake.

Morgan remembered how lost and confused she felt at her age. She gulped and tightened her grip around Peter's daughter.

"Daddy's gone." May whispered, her voice tiny and small. She looked up at Morgan, with intelligent, somber eyes. "Isn't he?"

And Morgan remembers the words Peter spoke to her 15 years ago and she shook her head, rubbing May's shoulder comfortingly. "He may be, physically." Morgan replied, her voice soft. The five year old met her eyes and Morgan continued, "But he's always going to be with you." She pointed up at the stars, May following her gaze. "He's up there. Watching over you." Morgan looked down at little May, caressing her cheek. "He loves you. And he's proud, so proud, May. He's never going to leave you."

So Morgan takes May under her wing. Like Peter did to her all those years ago.

Peter kept her father alive for her. With his stories and his actions. He was so much like her father. So Morgan would keep Peter alive for May. Help her. Like Peter helped her.

Peter wasn't gone. He's going to live through MJ, through Aunt May, through countless stories, pictures, memories. He's going to live through MJ and Peter's daughter, Mayday, through their unborn son.

And Morgan's going to make sure of that.


End file.
